Senegal: authorities note drop in attendance at immunization centers

Text by: RFI Follow

This is a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic: some parents no longer want their children to be vaccinated against measles, polio or even tuberculosis. They explain that they want to refuse the test on their children of a supposed vaccine against Covid-19 by European doctors. A refusal which starts from false information widely relayed on social networks.

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With our correspondent in Dakar, William de Lesseux

Each week, near San Samba in Casamance in the south of the country, the state nurse Rémi Diedhiou goes on a vaccination tour. On this day, in the village of Sonkocounda, two families refuse to have their young children vaccinated: “  There have been rumors in social networks, where people said: no, no, we should not vaccinate children. Because if you vaccinate children, the vaccine is not a good vaccine.  "

The caregiver must now arm himself with arguments to convince the families: "  I tell them: you know me, every month I come to vaccinate the children. Today, with the pandemic, you had this information, but you have to believe me, because if it was not a good vaccine, I cannot be there. In families that were reluctant, there were some who agreed, but there are others who have so far refused to vaccinate the children.  "

Risk of new epidemics

Failure to vaccinate the youngest is to create potential new epidemics, explains Doctor Mamadou Ndiaye, prevention director at the Ministry of Health: "  I'm talking about measles , I'm talking about yellow fever, whooping cough and so on… There have been epidemics of this kind, which unfortunately have resulted in higher mortality rates compared to Covid-19, at least in our current context.  "

In Senegal, vaccination is not compulsory, but it is free and remains highly recommended.

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• Senegal
• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine