According to the Western Cape Department of Health too many children in the Western Cape are being left without protection against measles and other preventable diseases and, as a result, the risk of large measles outbreaks has increased.
The department said it is crucial, now more than ever, to make sure all children are up to date with their routine immunisations.
World Immunisation Week (24-30 April) provides an opportunity for parents and guardians to support childhood immunisation programmes and learn about the direct and indirect benefits of routine inoculation for children. The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness offers routine childhood vaccines.
The department said in a media statement that given that measles is a preventable disease, it is worrying to see that many eligible minors did not receive their first or second doses of the vaccine during this year’s national measles immunisation campaign.
An outbreak was declared in the province in February 2023. From 19 April 2023 a total of 12 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been reported from the Western Cape, with all of the cases coming from the Cape Metro district. Six of these cases had been vaccinated, while the vaccination status of the remaining six is unknown. The most affected age group is 5- to 9-year-olds.
The Cape Metro district with the highest concentration of children has the lowest vaccination rate (39%). As of 20 April 2023, the Western Cape has administered 759 664 measles vaccine doses or to 44% of the total eligible population.
To stave off future outbreaks and provide greater immunity against severe disease the province needs the support of parents and guardians to immunise 95% of eligible children against measles this year. The shot is freely available to them at clinics across the province.
The department strongly encourages parents to immunise their children.
“Children continue to experience high levels of infection,” Sonia Botha, the coordinator of the Western Cape’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation, pointed out. “This disrupts their schooling, child-care and other activities. When they are sick their parents need to take time off work to care for them. Getting every eligible child fully vaccinated against measles, tetanus, HPV [human papillomavirus] and other diseases protects our children from severe outcomes. It is not possible to achieve full protection against vaccine-preventable diseases at the population level unless most of the children are immunised.”
This year the department will continue to double its efforts to protect people, especially children, from vaccine-preventable diseases. The annual school-integrated immunisation programme will again provide easy access to life saving vaccines this year and primary health-care facilities will deliver them too.
