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80 %
The increase in measles cases in the last two months around the world is enormouswhile the WHO wanted to eradicate this serious disease by 2020.
21
There have been 21 significant measles outbreaks in the past twelve months, mostly in Africa and the Mediterranean region.
3 %
Vaccinations of 11-12 year olds in Belgium fell by 3% between 2018 and 2021.
4.000
The number of fewer doses administered once morest the HPV (human papillomavirus) for the current school year is of concern.
15 %
The number of vaccinations once morest diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis at 15-16 years old fell during the health crisis, but returned to normal in 2020-2021.
The end point
The WHO and Unicef fear the appearance of serious epidemics of measles, a highly contagious viral disease which might affect millions of children in 2022. However, in Belgium, among infants, children and teenagers, a gradual drop in year by year of the number of vaccinated is observed.
Several phenomena explain these delays in vaccination. First of all, the competent services were monopolized by the management of the Covid within the schools. To this was added at the start of the 2021 school year the request from the political powers to carry out vaccination once morest Covid-19, at least in Brussels. Hence delays and difficulties in catching up with vaccinations “usual”.
In addition, fewer parents gave their authorization for the vaccination than in the past. The Office of Birth and Childhood postulates that this is due to greater apprehension regarding vaccination. “It is possible that the questions around Covid have transferred to other vaccinations. Another possibility is the unfounded fear of some parents that the vaccination authorization for a disease included in the usual program will be used to carry out a vaccination once morest Covid-19.”
