Why don’t parents vaccinate their children?

Why don’t parents vaccinate their children? The question has been raised by the health authorities, seeing the low percentages of the application of the doses in Santander.

In Santander, vaccination coverage triple viral and the fifth They dropped after the COVID-19 pandemic to below 80%. This is a very low record, especially if we take into account the negative effects left in children without using these doses.

He is the one with the least demand in the Department as mentioned triple viralwhich protects against measles, mumps and rubella; while the vaccine was pentavalent It protects against five diseases: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, influenza type b and hepatitis B, all diseases that can be serious in childhood.

Different vaccines work in different ways, but each helps the body’s immune system learn how to fight germs.

According to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, it is expected that in Colombia and therefore in Santander, the percentage of one-year-old children will be vaccinated with triple viral and the percentage of children under one year of age with a third dose of pentavalentreach a figure greater than or equal to 95%.

Within the Department, the low numbers of vaccinations triple viral in children they are evident in the following towns: Jordan, 38%; and Vetas, 47%.

In the cases of the cities of the metropolitan area, the percentages of that same dose are as follows: Bucaramanga and Girón, 86%; and Floridablanca, 78%. The only city above the national average is Piedecuesta, with 93%.

What needs to be done with the vaccine pentavalentthe lowest municipalities in the region are: Pinchote, 40% and Aguada, 45%;.

At the same time, the records in the metropolitan area are as follows: Bucaramanga, 91%; Floridablanca, 84%; Giron and Piedecuesta, 83% each.

In the case of the area, even if the percentage is higher than 80% of coverage, the case is very serious, if it is taken into account that the doses that are applied the good time during childhood is essential because they help to provide immunity before older children are exposed to potentially fatal diseases.

Vaccines are evaluated to ensure they are safe and effective for use in children at the recommended ages.

Expert voice

According to the analyst Yani León Castañeda, the reasons why parents do not vaccinate their children are as follows:

1. Distrust in vaccines due to fake news and conspiracy theories that circulate on social networks that, without scientific basis, are considered true and reproducible. This reason can be found even in the upper strata, along with other lifestyles or religions.

2. Difficulties in taking the child to the vaccination station, either because he or she is being cared for by an older adult with mobility problems while the mother and/or father are working or because of a lack of resources to pay. ​for transport or being in an area with few roads, as is the case in some rural areas or very vulnerable populations such as migrants.

3. Because of carelessness, a situation that occurs in the case of very young mothers and fathers and/or with little awareness of the importance of the matter.

Apart from: How is the Covid-19 overview in Santander?

“Each of these causes requires very different interventions, such as door-to-door visits, child-by-child monitoring that involves the use of technology to date and to recall vaccination sites, the support received through the leaders of the community action boards, the greater dissemination of scientific information to reject false news, in short … there are many other options, but studies must be that measures and examines the roots of this ongoing problem in the region.” , marked León Castañeda.