Do you know that
Vaccination and Immunization are similar but not the same?
World Immunization Week (April 24 – 30th) calls attention to the collaborative action required to safeguard people from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Vaccination is the term for acquiring a vaccine — getting the injection or taking an oral vaccine dose.
Immunization is getting the vaccine and becoming immune to the disease after vaccination.
So, if you don’t get vaccinated, you won’t be immunized against that illness.
When someone accepts a vaccine, their body builds up an immune response like it would after exposure to illness, but without the individual getting the disease.
Your immune system’s familiarity with the condition allows your body to respond faster if exposed to the disease state naturally.
This year’s world immunization week theme is -The Big Catch-up.
The Covid 19 pandemic severely disrupted routine immunization programs globally.
With three years of pandemic-related disruptions to vital health services and strained health systems, the world lost 30 years of progress in protecting children with routine immunizations, an essential component of primary health services.
IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION
The covid -19 pandemic was a powerful demonstration of the life-saving power of vaccines.
Two main reasons for vaccination are to protect ourselves and those around us.
Because not everyone can be inoculated (those who are seriously ill or have specific allergies or very young babies), they are dependent on others being vaccinated to make them safe from vaccine-preventable diseases.
As corroborated by WHO, VACCINATION PROTECT AGAINST SEVERAL DISEASES, including:
- Cervical cancer
- Cholera
- COVID-19
- Diphtheria
- Ebola virus disease
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza
- Japanese encephalitis
- Measles
- Meningitis
- Mumps
- Pertussis
- Pneumonia
- Polio
- Rabies
- Rotavirus
- Rubella
- Tetanus
- Typhoid
- Varicella
- Yellow fever
Pipeline vaccines
- Enterotoxigenic E.coli
- Group B Streptococcus
- Herpes simplex Virus
- HIV1
- Malaria
- Neisseria gonorrhea
- Non-typhoid salmonella disease
- Norovirus
- Parathyroid fever
- Respiratory syncytial virus
- Schistosomiasis
- Shigella
- Group A Streptococcus
- Tuberculosis
- Improved influenza vaccine
VACCINE HESITANCY, defined by WHO as “the delay in accepting or refusing a vaccine notwithstanding the availability of immunization services”, is one of the ten global health concerns.
SOME OF THE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR VACCINE HESITANCY include
- concern about vaccine safety and side effects
- misinformation from social media
- lack of trust in the government and pharmaceutical company
- conspiracy theories and unfounded rumors
- skepticism of the speed of vaccine production
- convenience/complacency/lack of confidence
- fear of long-term effects / infertility-related rumors
- belief the infection does not exist
- sentiments that the disease is over
- trust in a “strong” immune system that does not require a vaccine
- religious and populistic attitude towards vaccination
- lack of adequate knowledge about the vaccine
- vaccine brand preference
- fear of being provided with a low-quality vaccine
A holistic strategy for promoting vaccination is required, addressing human, interpersonal, and structural hurdles.
Even though vaccination has successfully decreased the worldwide burden of sickness and mortality, public trust in vaccines can be undermined by various issues.
As a result, vaccination hesitancy can cause delays and refusal and contribute to disease outbreaks.
Increasing immunization coverage needs persuasive evidence and clear communication about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.
Reducing inequalities in vaccine coverage will necessitate a significant international commitment to international immunization targets and the implementation of catch-up campaigns to address gaps in existing immunity and factors responsible for vaccine hesitancy (Ali, A.H. et al. 2022).
Vaccines will not prevent the infection, but vaccination will.
Support the Big catch-up to vaccinate millions of children and restore immunization progress lost during the pandemic.
By Adaobi Nwaokoye-Okoh
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