All over the world parents are postponing routine checkups, including vaccinations of their children because of fear of COVID-19 pandemic. A trend that’s putting millions of children at risk of exposure to preventable deadly diseases.
My worst fear during the pandemic is the fear of my children catching infections and falling ill. Even though they are at home and have done zero socialising, I have a nagging worry that they might get sick.
All these months of lockdown, I was under the impression that taking my children to any clinic or hospital is extremely risky. I just can’t afford to expose my kids to the highly infectious environment of a hospital or a clinic – or so I thought. But I was wrong and let me tell you how.
One fine day, during the mayhem of this pandemic when we were amidst the lockdown situation, it dawned upon me that probably my younger kid (who is 4 years old) is due for a vaccination. Panicking, I took out the vaccination card and checked thoroughly. To my relief, he is due for his next vaccination in 2021 when he’ll turn 5. It’ll be a DTP booster.
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Ah! Such a big relief. But, then I thought that what if he was actually due for a vaccination? What would I have done then? It surely would have been hard, but what needs to be done – must be done.
I started researching on the internet and found out that even when children are confined at home, they need to be vaccinated. This is especially true of children in the age group of 4-6 and adolescents from 9-13 who should be getting their booster doses of DTP vaccines.
The irony is that the Novel Corona Virus pandemic has disrupted the routine vaccination schedule of children all over the world. Millions of kids have already missed their timely vaccines because of this, and it’s quite alarming. As per the medical experts, children below 2 years of age should get routine vaccinations and immunizations without any delay. In addition, booster doses simply cannot be missed because immunity for children wanes after some time.
An article stated that in a dipstick survey conducted in 30 villages of Rajasthan in India, around 250 children lost the opportunity to get vaccinated in the month of March 2020 due to various reasons. To understand the gravity of the situation – according to the 2011 census, India has around 600,000 villages.
There was an article in The New York Times mentioning that the parents are postponing routine check-ups, including vaccination, putting millions of kids at risk of exposure to preventable deadly diseases.
The biggest collateral damage of COVID-19 is the outbreak of deadly diseases which are otherwise preventable through vaccines. It is predicted that measles and diphtheria cases will be on a rise all over the world if the government doesn’t take steps towards this direction.
Many parents miss getting the booster doses for their children because of a number of reasons. It could be a lack of awareness or the inability to go to a doctor at this time. But delaying the booster dose is not advisable at all. The reason is that immunity wanes over time, as I mentioned before and because in some children the immunity is not completely developed through the earlier doses too. The booster dose completes the immunity.
Thinking that children are at home and are safe is another mistake we parents make. Children are already reservoirs of these infections and may even pass on the disease to their younger siblings or elderly grandparents at home!
If there has been an unprecedented delay in the vaccination and immunization schedule of your child, talk to your paediatrician now.
Most of the vaccines have a catch-up period. If there has been a delay, then it should be resumed as soon as possible. You can also take advice from your doctor and do what’s suggested before visiting clinics and hospitals in person.
This is a tough time for parents globally and delays in vaccines & immunization is a global issue. It is affecting us in more ways than one. As parents, our responsibility is to keep the booster vaccines on schedule and consult the paediatrician if any vaccine gets missed because of circumstances that are beyond our control.
#DontWaitVaccinate your child now! Get more information on DTP booster vaccines here.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in the blog content are independent and unbiased views of solely the blogger. This is a part of the public awareness initiative supported by Sanofi Pasteur India. Sanofi Pasteur India bears no responsibility for the content of the blog. One should consult their healthcare provider for any health-related information.
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