LAST week, news broke out that a 41-year-old
in Negri Sembilan had contracted diphtheria.
Around the same time, a boy, 8, was also
admitted to hospital for suspected diphtheria.
The latest development brings the total
number of diphtheria cases nationwide to 15, five of which are fatal.
Diphtheria is supposed to have been
eradicated by now. It can easily be prevented if one is vaccinated as recommended
by healthcare experts.
Unfortunately, some parents choose to ignore
the recommendations. They come up with various arguments, either from spiritual
or health perspectives.
Some claim that the vaccines are not halal,
hence they did not allow their children to be vaccinated.
Others cited conspiracy theories where
vaccines are supposedly big business opportunities by unscrupulous
pharmaceutical companies.
The debate has been going on, especially in
the social media.
Those who are anti-vaccinations seem firm in
their decisions. No amount of reasoning can influence them. I am fine with
their decision if, and only if, it is for themselves. However, when it comes to
protecting their children, I disagree with their stand.
The religious scholars had agreed that vaccines
are allowed despite their questionable halal status. This is because bigger
threats loom if one chooses otherwise.
The safety and health of individuals and the
community at large are a bigger priority.
Secondly, parents who choose to not vaccinate
their children are bordering on being irresponsible. It is their children who
will unnecessarily suffer or even die from highly preventable diseases such as
diphtheria.
Not only that, but they have also “helped
revive” an otherwise eradicated disease.
Dr Nik Hisamuddin Nik Ab Rahman, associate
professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia and head of Emergency Medicine
Department at HUSM, stressed that our vaccination programme is among the best
in the world.
The government has provided excellent support
to the people for their health.
Many fatal diseases such as polio have been
wiped out in Malaysia due to such vaccination programme. He added that the
vaccine taken contains safe bacteria which had been deactivated.
These bacteria encourage our bodies to
produce antibodies which can provide lifelong protection. Most are one-time
doses except for a few vaccines which require boosters, such as hepatitis,
meningococcal, influenza and tetanus.
Parents who are anti-vaccine probably think
they are smarter than doctors. In doing so, they create unnecessary risks for
their kids. So, let’s be more responsible and smarter parents. Let’s protect
our kids today.
Zaid Mohamad
Zaid Mohamad
coaches and trains parents to experience happier homes and more productive workplaces.
No comments:
Post a Comment