Don ’t call them anti-vaxxers – that just further erodes people’s trust | Gary Finnegan

There ’s been a worrying decline in diphtheria, polio and measles jabs. We should heed the lessons of Covid-19We forgot about measles. And tetanus and diphtheria. And polio. In the race to vaccinate the world against Covid-19, the global drive to suppress some of the biggest killers in history has fallen back.Almost12n doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in less than 18 months – a stunning achievement, even if the global distribution has been uneven. Yet more than30 million children have missed out on other basic vaccinations during the pandemic, with south-east Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region being the worst hit. This means large numbers of young people will be vulnerable to diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus, as well asmeasles– a disease that continues to kill tens of thousands of people every year.Gary Finnegan is a health journalist based in IrelandContinue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Vaccines and immunisation Coronavirus Infectious diseases World news Health Society Science Immunology Source Type: news