1 week Ago By Shamar Blunt
I n the wake of a measles outbreak in Texas that has claimed three lives and infected over 500 people, a leading local paediatrician is calling for renewed national focus on vaccination. Dr Clyde Cave, former director of medical services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and a respected voice in paediatric medicine, expressed concern about the global decline in immunisation rates and has warned against complacency. “We know that measles is a serious disease,” he told Barbados TODAY .
“Many people can recover from it without any side effects, but because it is so contagious, it spreads easily, and some of the people who get it will have pneumonia and need to be in hospital for that and other reasons, and it is serious enough that a small percentage of them will die,” he said. He underscored the historical success of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in protecting the population. “It’s a preventable disease because we have prevented it in the past.
We used to have death from measles and we used to have a lot of infections with childhood diseases in hospitals. That used to be a thing of the past, and why was that a thing of the past? Because we had a high immunisation coverage..
.. For whatever reason, complacency or ancient belief or whatever, there has been a recent decline in coverage, and this is a worldwide phenomenon.
” He said there was concern over the decline locally in immunisation coverage provided by the MMR vaccine. “[Immunisation] has to be at a very high percentage in order to protect the entire community. When we talk about protection, it’s not just for the individual child.
We are protecting those children and other people who cannot be immunised. Once you have a break in that fence, then the measles gets into the community,” he said. “It spreads, and all those vulnerable children who cannot yet be vaccinated, even if their parents wanted them to, then they become susceptible.
” In response to growing concerns, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has launched a campaign to review the vaccination status of children and to reach those who may have missed their doses. While praising the ministry’s efforts, Dr Cave stressed that public health is a shared responsibility. You Might Be Interested In Serious health and safety violations at Liquidation Centre Former naval base at Harrison Point identified as isolation centre Rihanna’s father reveals he tested positive for coronavirus “The main takeaway is this should not be news.
It is a safe vaccine which we have used for many years; we have demonstrated success with it. The concern now is because we have allowed the coverage to lapse. “So the question for us is how do we protect ourselves and our children? We know how to do it.
We have the resources to do it.” (SB).
