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VICTORIA MARUMO
editors@thepatriot.co.bw
A month after the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) rolled out a nationwide campaign to vaccinate children between the ages of nine months and five years old against measles, a flood of grievances have been reported by parents and guardians.
Major concerns surround the side effects of the Rubella vaccine, with many alleging that it is making children sick, developing symptoms like coughing, difficulty breathing, fevers, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss. Last week parents and guardians vented their frustrations on social media, sharing with others how their children were responding to the vaccine, claiming that the iting how the situation was in fact getting worse by the day.
Speaking to The Patriot On Sunday, one parent who preferred to share their story anonymously, said he initially assumed his daughters were suffering a mild cold from playing in the rain but panicked when the cough became unusually persistent. ” My daughters were vaccinated on 2 February and shortly after, they both had an abnormal cough that worried me, because it came with an unfamiliar shortness of breath and loss of appetite. I had to test myself and the kids for Covid-19 and our results were negative and that’s when It dawned on me to seek medical attention,” he said, adding that the children were diagnosed with a chest infection at a private clinic.
Although they received antibiotics to treat it, two weeks later, recovery was slow and he had to take them back to a clinic for a second prescription.
While a good number of parents also seemingly went back to local health clinics to seek professional medical help, it would appear the paracetamol that was prescribed by medical staff has little to no positive effect at all. Some parents were worried sick imagining the worst possible scenario, and were quick to assume that their children were showing signs of Covid-19, going as far as having them tested for the virus only to realize a bit later, that the sickness pattern, is as a result of the vaccine.
Director of Health Services, Dr Malebogo Kebabonye, said after the vaccination campaign, MoHW has recorded only 16 reports to date of which most are well on their recovery journey. “Adverse effects are a known phenomenon following immunization, and we normally classify them as minor to severe. Some will happen immediately while some can be experienced while the child is at home,” said Dr Kebabonye.
She further emphasized the safety profile of the vaccine because it is the same one, they have regularly used in the previous under 5 years immunization schedule. Parents are encouraged nonetheless to report any worrisome symptoms to the nearest clinic.
