If only
It seems the measles outbreak is not confined to the Philippines. According to UNICEF, ten countries (including the Philippines) are responsible for the seventy-five percent increase in measles cases worldwide. Ninety-eight countries have reported an increase in measles cases in 2018 compared to 2017. It is amazing a vaccine is available that can be safely given to children, and yet here we have an increase in cases worldwide.
In the Philippines, one probable reason for the increase in measles cases is the reluctance of some parents to have their children vaccinated because of the Dengvaxia issue. Over the past two years or so, a government agency played up the Dengvaxia risk, outright blaming the vaccine for the deaths of some children. But according to the DOH, there is no solid evidence that the administration of Dengvaxia directly caused the deaths. In fact, the Philippines is the only country with a controversy surrounding the use of Dengvaxia. The vaccine is still available in other countries. But because of the mileage the agency gave the issue, many parents may have been afraid to have their children vaccinated.
There is a different reason in other countries. There is a large anti-vaccine movement blaming vaccines for autism. Autism is a condition where a child has difficulty communicating or having social relationships with other people. The movement blames vaccines, even without substantial evidence to back it up. In the age of the information superhighway, many have accepted the anti-vaccination movement as gospel truth. This is the problem with accepting information without verification. Unfortunately, the superhighway has also become the unwilling route of fake news.
Measles was never a problem. There hasn’t been a measles outbreak in decades. I cannot fathom the rationale of the anti-vaccine movement, if so many children have been safely vaccinated, giving them protection through the years. Measles should not be treated lightly. Complications arising from measles may be deadly. The DOH will have to put their information campaign into overdrive, in order to overtake the spread of measles. Current numbers show 12,736 cases with 203 deaths. Truly unacceptable. If Indonesia can have a drop of 65% of measles cases in 2018, we should be able to do the same. If only the twelve thousand plus children were vaccinated, there wouldn’t be two hundred three deaths. If only people would be more responsible in what they put out there.
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