Parents Reject Vaccination For Children In Rivers

Edith CHUKU

Some health workers in Rivers State have stressed the need for parents to be adequately enlightened in churches, market places and during schools’ PTA meetings, in order to achieve the desired goal during any vaccination exercise.

They stated this while sharing some of their experiences with our correspondent, on Sunday, over the just concluded measles vaccination.

Recall that the Rivers State government had announced a nine days mass measles vaccination campaign, targeting children aged nine months to under five years.

The campaign which started Saturday, October 12, with two days mop-up exercise, aimed to protect children from the contagious disease, ended Sunday, October 20.

Dr. Adaeze Oreh, the State Commissioner for Health had explained that the campaign was a response to a worrying decline in vaccination coverage rates, observed not only in the state but also globally.

She described measles as a potential deadly disease and emphasized the need for high vaccination coverage to prevent outbreaks and ensure children’s growth and development.

Also, the state health educator of the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr. Babbo Diana told TNN in an interview before the vaccination campaign commenced, that, “we know that the measles season will very soon be upon us; measles season starts about November into mid-January and we want to protect as many children as we can before that time arises.

“We know that in our routine immunization we normally give measles vaccination at nine months and 15 months in the schedule but we also know that not every mother meets up with that schedule, some persons give a single dose, some others meet up with the two doses and there are different cohorts of children that are missed out and over years they become large crowd of children that can easily become affected badly when measles virus get into the community.”

Babbo stressed that, “we are trying to see that every two years as a country we do a quick campaign and mop-up all these children with measles vaccination.”

She further assured that the vaccines are safe, free and effective, and urged parents to allow their children take the vaccines.

Sharing their experiences, some health workers expressed disappointment that some parents were ignorantly endangering the health of their children following their refusal to give their consent during the campaign.

They explained that though the vaccination was crucial but noted that it would be out of place administering it to children whose parents practically declined and warned them against it.

One of the health workers who spoke on grounds of anonymity said, “I don’t think they(parents) understand that they are endangering their children’s health, they don’t know, if they do, they will not react the way they did.

“Alot of parents allowed us. We went to churches and some pastors announced it in the adult session and some mothers brought out their children for the vaccination but there were some who came to the children church to carry their children so we don’t administer it to them.

“I think before the exercise, parents should be enlightened from the pulpit, yes, like when a pastor is preaching, even in the market places. Also, during PTA meetings. It’s been on the radio, television, so, pastors, school owners can help out.”

He regretted that, “unfortunately it’s not about them the parents, but the innocent children that’s why I am worried, but it’s well.”