ISLAMABAD:
Lal Khan came all the way from Rawalpindi to get his nine-month-old grandson vaccinated at Polyclinic Hospital. But the 65-year-old had to take back the baby home as all the public sector hospitals were closed due to the strike by paramedics and non-medical staff.
“This was the second time I came to get my grandson vaccinated and was told to go back and come when the strike ends.” Being poor, old and ill, it is not easy for me to come here again and again and also bear travelling costs, he lamented. “The problem is that he [grandson] is registered at Polyclinic, so I cannot get him vaccinated from any other public hospital and cannot afford to have it done at a private hospital,” Khan said while talking to The Express Tribune on Monday.
Sadly, Khan is not alone. Every day, between 100-150 children each come to Polyclinic and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for vaccination against eight diseases---childhood tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B. haemophilus influenza type b and measles under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
Meanwhile, no polio camps were set at federal hospitals during the recent national campaign.
According to hospital sources, over well over 200 children are vaccinated in children’s OPDs, or over 8,000 this year.
Talking to The Express Tribune, health experts were of the view that only parents who were aware of the importance of vaccination would have taken their children to private facilities. However, those who are unaware would have missed the scheduled vaccination, making their children susceptible to these diseases. Pakistan already seems unlikely to meet health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with such delays adding to the chance of that eventuality. Among others, polio is one of the diseases still on the rise, with seven cases already reported this year.
Dr Sajjadur Rehman at Pims Children Hospital said that many parents whose children were refused vaccination went home and said that they would stop vaccinating them in future.
“A majority of parents who comes here are poor and are not much aware of the importance of vaccination and cannot afford to have it done at private hospitals as it cost from Rs500-Rs1,500,” he said.
He said vaccination against childhood TB is very important and even if missed just once, a child easily can become prone to the disease, while tetanus has a 100 per cent mortality rate if the vaccination is missed.
Normally, over 400 children are given polio drops in OPDs during anti-polio campaigns, while 1,000-1,500 are admitted in various wards.
Talking to The Express Tribune, EPI National Manager Dr Zahid Larik said routine immunisation for children should not be delayed for more than a week.
“It is true that the ongoing strike disturbed the vaccination program but even now, we have not receive details about it from the capital’s district administration,” he said.
Meanwhile, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Health Director Dr Hassan Urooj said catering to the number of children coming to the federal hospitals for vaccination was beyond the authority’s control, while adding, “It was unfortunate that only a few TV channels cooperated and ran the toll free number for the parents of children who missed vaccinations,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2012.
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