Claims by a group of parents on Facebook against child vaccinations have been debunked by medical specialists.

Penang-based consultant paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist Dr Sim Joo Seng said there has been extremely low numbers of reported side effects of vaccinations.

NONE “This myth has to be debunked as there has been extremely low numbers of reported side effects of vaccinations that are curable and some side effects such as fever and rashes which disappear on their own without medication.

“As a preventive measure, paediatricians do give out medicine for fever,” Sim said.

Yesterday, The Malay Mail reported that some parents had claimed vaccinations have adverse side effects while others alleged they contained non-halal ingredients despite a national fatwa declaring them harus (permissible).

This has led to concerns of possible resurgence of eradicated diseases.

Sim said the government ought to educate parents on the importance of vaccinating their children as the benefits outweigh the minimal potential side effects that are easily treatable.

“Parents should be made to understand that vaccination is a form of prevention that can save their children from fatal illnesses," he said.

Seek doctor's opinion, parents told

He advised parents to seek advice from medical doctors or paediatricians before believing what they read on the Internet.

"It is good that some parents go online to gain information on issues concerning their children’s health but at the same time they might end up believing wrong information without seeking any opinion."

NONE He said financial concerns are a non-issue as government clinics and hospitals offer free vaccinations for newborns and children.

"It is just a matter of choice but as responsible parents it is wise to get your children vaccinated to prevent diseases such as hepatitis, influenza, tetanus and rubella.

“Why wait until it’s too late when your children have developed full blown diseases that could have been prevented in the first place?” he questioned.

Sim added he would encounter two to three cases of parents who refuse to vaccinate their babies or children.

“All I can do is to advise such parents is by handing them flyers or pamphlets on the benefits of vaccination.

As parents, they have the final say,” said Sim who is also a member of the Malaysian Paediatric Association.

‘Excellent immunisation programme’

Meanwhile, paediatrician and neonatologist Dr Musa Mohd Nordin said vaccines strengthen and boost the child’s ability to fight infections.

He said fears associating the Mumps-Measles Rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism were based on a fraudulent study in 1998 by Dr Andrew Jeremy Wakefield, who has since been expelled from the General Medical Council UK.

Musa, who is a consultant at Damansara Specialist Hospital, said the MMR coverage in the UK has plummeted to below 70 percent and there are now widespread outbreaks of measles.

“The Health Ministry has an excellent immunisation programme and the coverage of virtually all of our vaccines are in excess of 90 to 95 percent.

“This protects our children against a whole host of severe infections, namely hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diptheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, haemophilus influenza B, measles, mumps, rubella and human papilloma virus to protect our girls from cervical cancer.”

However, Musa suggested the ministry incorporate two more life saving vaccines, the rotavirus and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, to protect children from killer diarrheal diseases, pneumococcal pneumonia and |meningitis.

- The Malay Mail