Authorities urge parents to vaccinate children as measles re-emerge as a disease of concern
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s health authorities are urging parents to get the measles vaccine for their children as the contagious disease has re-emerged in the island amid a breakdown in the immunization program.
Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana told reports on Tuesday (2) that although Sri Lanka had been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated measles in 2019, around 700 cases had been reported last year, giving rise to concerns about the spread of the contagious disease.
“Certain deficiencies in people’s existing immunity may have contributed to this situation,” Pathirana said, announcing that arrangements have been made to provide nationwide measles vaccine through the Medical Officer of Health, beginning the second week of January.
The minister attributed the re-emergence of measles to the failure of parents to have their children vaccinated against the disease, due to fears about the consequence of the anti-Covid vaccine.
“What happened was, in the last couple of years, partly due to the Covid pandemic, parents have been a little reluctant to get the vaccination,” he said, noting that during the Covid period some people were reluctant to even get the Covid vaccination.
“So, there are people like that. There is a fear factor regarding the immunization,” he said, appealing to the parents to not worry about the measles vaccination as they are very much safe.
“Go ahead and vaccinate. Even if your child is already vaccinated, there is no harm of taking a booster,” he advised.
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