PETALING JAYA: Wrong information has been one of the main reasons behind the rejection of vaccinations, according to the Health Ministry.
The spread of false news and misinformation on social media has led to people rejecting vaccines, Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pix) said in a statement today.
“The ministry is monitoring misconceptions, especially on social media,” he said. “Such irresponsible acts have led to resistance to the fight against diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified vaccine rejection as one of the global health threats for 2019.”
Noor Hisham said the number of vaccine rejection cases recorded at governments clinics continued to increase from 637 cases in 2013 to 1,603 in 2016.
“There was a slight decrease in 2017 with 1,404 rejected vaccine rejection cases after extensive advocacy efforts by the ministry involving public and private parties, including non-governmental organisations.”
He added that diseases that are preventable by vaccines had increased in the country where 195 cases of chickenpox were recorded in 2013 but grew to a total of 1,935 cases in 2018, an increase of 891.8% over five years.
“The number of cases of measles due to no immunisations increased from 125 cases in 2013 to 1,467 cases in 2018,” he said.
The ministry recorded six deaths due to measles, five from diphtheria and 22 caused by pertussis.
“With the immunisation programme and increased access to health services, Malaysia has managed to lower the child death rate by 85% for the period 1970 to 2017, from 55.9 deaths per 1,000 live births to only 8.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.”
The public can visit www.myhealth.gov.my, www.infosihat.gov.my and immunise4life.my/ to learn more on the immunisations and vaccines.
