Posted on: Thu 04-06-2020

The space, which was usually filled to capacity and beyond in the days before the coronavirus saga, now had just a handful of women scattered about at the immunisation wing.

Everyday, excluding Fridays, mothers trooped out in numbers to get their infants and toddlers vaccinated.

In the National Programme on Immunization (NPI), vaccines are part of the routine for growing children. They serve as preventive measures against various infectious diseases that could affect the development of children and in some cases cause infant mortality.

But since the COVID-19 outbreak, it has become difficult to access this essential service. Most hospitals that haven’t closed operate partially and seem to have stopped vaccinating children. This has left mothers anxious about the aftermath of missing their children’s shots as and when due. While the health sector is saturated with fighting the novel epidemic and putting an end to its spread, other ailments seemed to have become non-existent to many health caregivers.

Many mothers have expressed concern that missing a child’s shots may lead to a future challenge in the development of the child. Some have argued that if there is not preventive shot, the child is vulnerable to major or minor diseases and attacks.

When Amaka Samuel went with her new baby to get the widely used Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine at the immunisation wing of the hospital, she was told to go back home. This news did not sit well with her and three other first time mothers who had been waiting for about three hours before a hospital attendant addressed them.

“I was here yesterday. They told me to come today and now they said we should go back home and come tomorrow again.  I don’t understand what is happening any more,” she lamented.

It was the same scenario at other public hospitals. The immunisation services have recorded low turn out owing to skeletal services been provided at the hospitals.  For safety reasons, hospitals try as much they can to avoid crowds, which is one of the safety guidelines stipulated for staying safe in the on-going fight against the spread of COVID-19.

On the other hand, the scourge of the virus seems to have overwhelmed hospitals and healthcare workers, such that every other health-related issues or needs doesn’t appear paramount at the moment.

Delayed vaccines or lack of vaccination as and when due may cause mothers to worry. But Dr Ochuwa Babah, Ultrasound and Fetal Medicine Unit,

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, of the Lagos University

Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, has assured that there might be hope.

“Some vaccines can still be given if the next dose has been missed for a few days. If it’s a first dose the person is due for, then there is no harm taking it if the scheduled date is missed.  It also depends on the vaccine that is missed. So the advice is for such a mother to find out from her healthcare provider what the best advice is as regards the missed dose. They will consider the type of vaccine and for how long the dose has been missed to make a decision.

“The best advice, however, is for mothers to know that it is not mandatory they start and complete their vaccines in one hospital. I am aware a number of hospitals (public and private) have had to shut down almost all or part of the facility when there is exposure of staff to COVID-19.  However, not all are closed at the same time. Rather than have a child miss vaccine doses, mothers can take the child to another hospital to give the next dose and return to their primary healthcare provider when they resume services. The doses given can always be recorded on same immunisations record for updates.

She explained that missing vaccine doses would not cause any side effect but rather it is the immunity derived from it that will be affected.

“A good example is tetanus toxoid vaccine. The first dose does not confer any immunity. It’s from the second dose immune protection sets in. And as subsequent doses are taken, the duration of immunity conferred increases. That’s why we encourage women of reproductive ages to complete five doses of tetanus toxoid vaccine as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) so that they can be immune all through their reproductive years and thus have no cause to be starting afresh with each pregnancy.”

Dr Babah said health workers on the frontline are overwhelmed, adding that it is not a good time to fall sick for anyone. She said emergency cases are being given preference and advised that any sick person in need of urgent attention should go to the emergency unit of the hospital and not wait until the situation is out of hand.

“It’s true other health conditions seem to be ignored, but not necessarily so. The problem is that, worldwide, the pandemic has created so much distraction from the norm. Some hospitals had to cut down patient load to reduce the overcrowding we normally experience in our clinics so as to give enough room for social distancing.

“Many health professionals are getting infected by patients who give false history when they go to hospital, resulting in the high incidence of asymptomatic cases (cases without any obvious symptom), and a host of other factors. All these necessitated having to reduce patient load in our hospitals. It is a doctor that is well and alive that can take care of patients. So for this reason, issue of prioritisation comes in. Emergency cases and people with life-threatening conditions like cancers are given preference. Those with chronic medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension are given longer than usual appointments if stable,” she said.

Source: Thesun

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