Vaccination guide for busy parents

IN 2009 South Africa experienced a significant measles outbreak. Dr Liza Street, paediatrician and co-founder of Ajuda, a digital storage vault for health information, was on the frontlines as sick children by the dozen started arriving at the hospital where she was working.

- STAFF REPORTER

Some children (predominantly vaccinated) were treated for mild symptoms and sent home. The unvaccinated children, small babies, and those with compromised immune systems were less fortunate, developing complications like pneumonia, dehydration, middle ear infections, and inflammation of the brain.

One little boy, just 18 months old, was admitted with severe pneumonia. “By the time he arrived, his oxygen levels were already dangerously low, and his young body was fighting for every breath. The team saved his life, but it was traumatic. We had no choice but to intubate him and put him on a ventilator.” Dr Street remembers watching the boy’s parents, sitting helplessly by his bedside. “Seeing their eyes, filled with fear and desperation, was heartbreaking. They had done everything they could, but they had not been aware of the importance of vaccination,” Dr Street said.