The necessary protection
Awareness campaign to make vaccination accessible to all
FIFTEEN orphaned children were vaccinated for the life- threatening Pneumococcal Disease (PD) recently as part of an awareness campaign pushing for government action in making the vaccination accessible to all Malaysian families.
At a press conference and vaccination session held at Ti-ratana Welfare Home in Desa Petaling, the Aim for Broader Coverage (ABC) campaign alongside the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) and several parenting portals called upon Malaysians to support an online pledge for the inclusion of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine into the National Immunisation Program (NIP).
Inclusion of the vaccination into the NIP would change its status from an optional vaccine to one that is mandatory and free of charge.
Every mother wants the best for their children’s health and to have this vaccine free of charge would provide for Malaysians who cannot afford this protection.
—AISHAH SINCLAIR
Currently the vaccine is RM200-RM300 per dose.
Depending on the age of children being vaccinated, two to four doses are needed.
Nearly 80% of Malaysian children are currently unprotected from PD.
The vaccinations at Ti-ratana Welfare Home were given to the youngest children most at risk and were funded by Pfizer Malaysia.
Mothers, health professionals and celebrities all spoke of the basic human right to access health care and the need for the vaccine to prevent unnecessary infant deaths and illness in Malaysia.
“I am blessed I can afford to pay hundreds of ringgit for the vaccination but we are pushing so that every Malaysian parent can have this vaccination free and accessible for their children,” celebrity mother Aishah Sinclair said.
“Every mother wants the best for their children’s health and to have this vaccine free of charge would help Malaysians who cannot afford this protection.”
PD is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae.
There are more than 90 known bacteria strains of PD worldwide which cause invasive infections including bacteremia/sepsis (bacterial infections of the blood) and meningitis (inflammation of the mebrane surrounding the spinal cord or brain).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), PD is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths of children under five worldwide.
More than one-and-a-half million people die from pneumococcal related illnesses every year, with South-east Asia having the highest number of cases and the highest number of fatalities.
“Political will is necessary in implementing this important healthcare protection for children,” said Chai Li Jin, co-founder of Parenting2u.com, one of the several parenting portals suporrting the press confrence.
“We hope to mobilise parents and likeminded individuals to sign the pledge and demonstrate their concern that so many children of Malaysia continue to remain unprotected against this debilitating disease.”
Online pledges have reached over 500 as of Feb 17 but campiagn organisers expect they will need thousands more to make any impression on health care policy.
To show your support for free PD vaccination, go to www.abc4pneumococcal.com