500,000 Vaccines After the Outbreak: Why Not Before?
I have written about vaccination before. More than once. In fact, I have written about vaccine hesitancy, about the misinformation that makes parents suspicious of perfectly safe vaccines, and about the devastating consequences of children missing vaccines that have been available for decades. I have written, advocated and screamed myself hoarse: vaccinate our children! But […]
Five hundred thousand doses of vaccine have been deployed to combat a diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria, with emergency measures being taken in Kano and Katsina. While these actions are necessary and welcome, the question remains: why only after the outbreak? Prevention should be prioritised over cure. Diphtheria is a well-known disease with a vaccine available for decades, but it seems that children are still not being adequately protected.
The government's reaction to an outbreak highlights the heavy price of delayed prevention. Nigeria has faced diphtheria resurgence before, with only a small percentage of cases being fully vaccinated. The current response demonstrates Nigeria's ability to move quickly in emergencies, but it raises the question of whether the same urgency can be applied to routine immunisation. The system needs improvement to prevent children from becoming vulnerable to preventable diseases.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Trust's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
