Vaccination Week, which is being observed from tomorrow across the Americas, is overshadowed by the recent warning from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that there could be a resurgence of some infectious diseases in the region.
The clearest indicator of this is the re-emergence of measles, which was declared eliminated more than two decades ago but has been on the rise, particularly in the United States.
In addition, while not an immediate threat, experts say a close watch should be kept on poliomyelitis, rubella, and neonatal tetanus — diseases eliminated in the 1980s and 2000s that could resurge unless health authorities can reverse low vaccination trends in many parts of the region.
So far, measles hasn’t crept back into the T&T population but it is important to avoid complacency. With global cases on the rise, increasing by 18 per cent from 2021 to 2022 and deaths up by 43 per cent with 37 countries experiencing large outbreaks in 2022, there is good reason to be on guard.
For the Ministry of Health, with its often-stated goal of having every citizen fully immunised, Vaccination Week is an opportunity not to be missed. This is as good a time as any to roll out intensive information and immunisation campaigns aimed at reducing the risk of outbreaks.
Since there is already in place an Expanded Programme on Immunization, the infrastructure is currently available for a special campaign aimed at those people who are not accessing the free vaccinations provided in the public health system.
This is critical in this post-COVID period because it is still necessary to debunk the vaccination misconceptions and disinformation being widely circulated, particularly on social media.
The drop in vaccination rates can be directly linked to a 1998 paper published in The Lancet by Andrew Wakefield claiming the MMR shot caused autism. Years after that paper was debunked and retracted by the journal, vaccine fears persist.
That disinformation started taking hold in T&T at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is still being spread, contributing to vaccine hesitancy and a decrease in confidence in vaccinations.
Add to that vaccination complacency, with many people lulled into a false sense of comfort because immunisation coverage is relatively high in T&T – above 90 per cent for the majority of vaccines, never mind that the goal should be above 95 per cent coverage to protect against outbreaks, particularly of previously eliminated diseases.
This is a problem that predates the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, less than two per cent of the population was vaccinated with the influenza vaccine because many did not consider that disease to be more than a mild infection.
But among the biggest challenges for public health officials here is the worrying dip in routine childhood vaccinations and the increasing risk of travellers bringing measles and other previously eradicated diseases into this country.
To counteract these trends, there must be ongoing efforts to debunk the disinformation with accurate information from trusted sources to help individuals differentiate between truth and myth.
The best way to increase confidence in vaccines is with continuous campaigns to reinforce credible information along with immunisation drives.
The Ministry of Health, which did a decent job at both during the pandemic, ought to revive these efforts to stave off future outbreaks.