Vaccine hesitancy and implications on childhood immunisation in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor Hazilah Abd Manaf ◽  
Mohd Azahadi Omar ◽  
Fatin Husna Suib
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Personal Choice ◽  
Childhood Immunisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Parental Decision ◽  
Islamic Medicine ◽  
Health Organization

PurposeThe World Health Organization identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the ten threats to global health in 2019. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implications and factors affecting parental decision on childhood immunisation in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews literature on vaccine hesitancy and evaluation of factors affecting parental decision on childhood immunisation in Malaysia.FindingsVaccine hesitancy is a growing public health concern in Malaysia with factors such as influence of Internet and social media, personal choice and individual right, conspiracy theory, religious reasons and alternative medicine as among the influencing dynamics. An urban, educated demography operating within a postmodern medical paradigm compounds the diminishing value of vaccines.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive examination of vaccine hesitancy in Malaysia. Critical appraisal on personal choice over societal responsibility within an Asian/Muslim collectivist society has not been discussed in previous studies. The acceptance of homeopathy as an Islamic medicine alternative is peculiar to multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Malaysia.

scholarly journals Validation of Bedaquiline Phenotypic Drug Susceptibility Testing Methods and Breakpoints: a Multilaboratory, Multicountry Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Koné Kaniga ◽  
Akio Aono ◽  
Emanuele Borroni ◽  
Daniela Maria Cirillo ◽  
Christel Desmaretz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Drug Susceptibility ◽  
Drug Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indicator Tube ◽  
Health Organization

ABSTRACT Drug-resistant tuberculosis persists as a major public health concern. Alongside efficacious treatments, validated and standardized drug susceptibility testing (DST) is required to improve patient care. This multicountry, multilaboratory external quality assessment (EQA) study aimed to validate the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of provisional bedaquiline MIC breakpoints and World Health Organization interim critical concentrations (CCs) for categorizing clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates as susceptible/resistant to the drug. Three methods were used: Middlebrook 7H11 agar proportion (AP) assay, broth microdilution (BMD) assay, and mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) assay. Each of the five laboratories tested the 40-isolate (20 unique isolates, duplicated) EQA panel at three time points. The study validated the sensitivity and specificity of a bedaquiline MIC susceptibility breakpoint of 0.12 μg/ml for the BMD method and WHO interim CCs of 1 μg/ml for MGIT and 0.25 μg/ml for the 7H11 AP methods. Categorical agreements between observed and expected results and sensitivities/specificities for correctly identifying an isolate as susceptible/resistant were highest at the 0.25, 0.12, and 1 μg/ml bedaquiline concentrations for the AP method, BMD (frozen or dry plates), and MGIT960, respectively. At these concentrations, the very major error rates for erroneously categorizing an isolate as susceptible when it was resistant were the lowest and within CLSI guidelines. The most highly reproducible bedaquiline DST methods were MGIT960 and BMD using dry plates. These findings validate the use of standardized DST methodologies and interpretative criteria to facilitate routine phenotypic bedaquiline DST and to monitor the emergence of bedaquiline resistance.

Vaccine hesitancy could derail COVID-19 control

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Population Immunity ◽  
Great Hope ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Vaccination Campaigns

Subject COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy. Significance In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) cited “vaccine hesitancy” as one of the top ten threats to global health. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, great hope has been placed on developing a vaccine to help countries return to normalcy. However, for a vaccine successfully to achieve the goal of population immunity, large-scale uptake is crucial. The growing anti-vaccination (‘anti-vax’) movement, which has strong pre-COVID-19 foundations, threatens to derail future vaccination campaigns. Impacts Stakeholders in public health will have to divert increasing amounts of resources to counter anti-vax content. Social media companies will come under increasing pressure to ensure they do not give a platform to misinformation relating to vaccinations. The full impact of the anti-vax movement will only be revealed when a vaccination campaign commences.

scholarly journals A Unique Sequence Is Essential for Efficient Multidrug Efflux Function of the MtrD Protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Chitsaz ◽  
Vrinda Gupta ◽  
Benjamin Harris ◽  
Megan L. O’Mara ◽  
Melissa H. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Multidrug Efflux ◽  
Transmitted Infection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Health Organization

The historical sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea continues to be a major public health concern with an estimated global annual incidence of 86.9 million cases. N. gonorrhoeae has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the 12 antimicrobial-resistant bacterial species that poses the greatest risk to human health. As the major efflux pump in gonococci, the MtrD transporter contributes to the cell envelope barrier in this organism and pumps antimicrobials from the periplasm and inner membrane, resulting in resistance.

Qualitative Analysis of Underlying Factors Affecting Vaccine Hesitancy in Iran- A Study Protocol (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salime Goharinezhad
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Slight Reduction ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Context Specific

BACKGROUND World Health Organization declared the vaccine hesitancy as a global public health threat in 2019. Since even a slight reduction in vaccine coverage rates can lead to a decrease in herd immunity, it is imperative to explore the underlying factors affecting vaccine hesitancy. in specific contexts, considering socioeconomic and cultural variation, to ensure interventions targeting hesitancy are well formulated and intervened. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this study is to identify underlying factors affecting vaccine hesitancy in Iran. METHODS A framework qualitative study will be conducted in the west of Tehran province in 2020. Participants in the study will be recruited hesitance-parents who extracted from the SIB system (an electronic health record in Iran) to maximize diversity. Interviews will be analyzed based on ''Determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy Matrix'' which developed by the WHO-SAGE Working Group. RESULTS deep understanding from the context-specific reasons for vaccine hesitancy cause to formulate better strategies to address them. The ultimate goal of this study is to inform future policies to increase the uptake of the vaccine in Iran. CONCLUSIONS This result of study will show variety opinions about vaccination among different types of socioeconomic and demographic households. The wide range of reasons related to vaccine hesitancy imply to more comprehensive, context-specific interventions. Today, the most important intervention issues focus on improving information about effectiveness and safety of vaccines, while other interventions for promoting vaccination is need to addressed.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccination Perception and Attitude among Healthcare Workers in Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110133
Author(s):  
Samar Fares ◽  
Merihan M. Elmnyer ◽  
Shimaa Sabry Mohamed ◽  
Radwa Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
P Value ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Introduction COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world, especially the frontline worriers. To get shielded through this war, the world is racing to reach and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination hesitancy is one of the significant obstacles to global health. Objectives This study aimed to assess the perception and attitude of healthcare workers in Egypt toward COVID-19 vaccines, acknowledge the determinants of their attitude, and the factors that could increase the acceptance of the vaccine. Methods an observational web-based anonymous survey was conducted on 385 Egyptian healthcare workers in different governorates. The questionnaire-based on Vaccine Hesitancy Survey Questions of the World Health Organization was available in Arabic and English languages and was tested for reliability. Results Regarding vaccination decision, 51% of the participants were undecided, 28% refused, and 21% accepted vaccination. Reasons for vaccine acceptance mainly were risks of COVID-19 (93%), safety (57.5%), and effectiveness (56.25%) of the vaccine. Simultaneously, the reasons for vaccine hesitancy were the absence of enough clinical trials (92.4%) and fear of side effects of the vaccine (91.4%). The leading factor that could increase vaccination acceptance among the participants was to get sufficient and accurate information about the available vaccines. The participants revealed a high mean level of concern for COVID-19 vaccines’ safety (3.8 of 5) that differs significantly among the different study groups ( P-value .002). Conclusion Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, only approximately 21% of Egyptian healthcare workers in our study accepted the COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy represents a major barrier to implementing vaccination programs.

scholarly journals Can Communication Strategies Combat COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy with Trade-Off between Public Service Messages and Public Skepticism? Experimental Evidence from Pakistan

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Qiang Jin ◽  
Syed Hassan Raza ◽  
Muhammad Yousaf ◽  
Umer Zaman ◽  
Jenny Marisa Lim Dao Siang
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Media Type ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
Media Types ◽  
Health Organization

The COVID-19 pandemic may have reached a turning point as the World Health Organization and the global community of nations step up plans for mass vaccination campaigns. However, the COVID-19 vaccine-related conspiracy theories (e.g., falsehoods about birth control, women infertility, surveillance, and microchip humanity, etc.) have built new momentum for vaccine hesitancy. To this end, several nations worldwide, including Pakistan, are struggling to boost public trust and enthusiasm to get vaccinated, especially in an anxious and complicated atmosphere propelled by multiple, new and the deadliest variants of COVID-19. To address this critical research gap during these intensifying conditions of vaccine hesitancy, the present study makes the first attempt to explore the potential effects of various communication strategies, including public service message (safety benefits versus fear appraisals), media types (i.e., traditional versus digital), self-efficacy, perceived benefits and threats (susceptibility and severity), on the willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Importantly, the underlying effects of public skepticism (in a moderating role) on these relationships were empirically examined. Using four fictitious COVID-19 immunization campaigns in a series of experiments with 2 (media type: traditional vs. digital) X 2 (service attribute: health and safety benefits vs. fear) message frames (represented as Group one to Group four), the findings identified fear appraisal as the most viable communication strategy in combating vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, public skepticism negatively moderated the effects of media types and public service message attributes on willingness to get vaccinated in relatively high (i.e., Group two), moderate (i.e., Group one and four), and low intensities (i.e., Group three). The pioneering findings of this research offer new strategic insights for the global health authorities and vaccine promoters to proactively address the downward spiral of people’s willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

scholarly journals 1.C. Workshop: How are digital solutions contributing to enhance immunization programmes and policies?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Immunization Programmes

Abstract As vaccine hesitancy and decreasing immunization coverage have been identified by the World Health Organization as global alarming health threats, it is of crucial importance to exploit the potential offered by digital solutions to enhance immunization programmes and ultimately increase vaccine uptake. We have previously developed and published a conceptual framework outlining how digitalization can support immunization at different levels: i) when adopted for health education and communication purposes, ii) in the context of immunization programmes delivery, and iii) in the context of immunization information systems management. The proposed workshop is co-organized by the EUPHA Digital health section (EUPHA-DH) and EUPHA Infectious diseases control section (EUPHA-IDC) and aims at discussing the current AVAILABILITY, USE and IMPACT of digital solutions to support immunization programmes at the international, national and local level, as well as, debating on how technical infrastructures on one side and normative and policy frameworks on the other side enable their implementation. We plan to have a rich set of contributions covering the following: the presentation of a conceptual framework identifying and mapping the digital solutions' features having the potential to bolster immunization programmes, namely: i) Personalization and precision; ii) Automation; iii) Prediction; iv) Data analytics (including big data and interoperability); and v) Interaction; the dissemination of key results and final outputs of a Europe-wide funded project on the use of Information & Communication Technology to enhance immunization, with particular reference to the use and comparative impact of email remainders and personal electronic health records, as well as the results of an international survey conducted to map and collect best practices on the use of different digital solutions within immunization programmes at the national and regional level; the firsthand experience of the United Kingdom NHS Digital Child Health Programme which developed, implemented and is currently evaluating a number of solutions to increase childhood vaccination uptake in England, including an information standard and information sharing services developed to ensure that the details of children's vaccinations can be shared between different health care settings the perspective and experience of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for Europe and of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the global level of what has worked so far in the digitalization of immunization programmes around the world, what recommendations were developed and which barriers identified at the technical normative and policy level Key messages Digitalization has great potential to support immunization programmes but its practice and impact need to be measured. Country-level and international experiences have created qualitative and quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of digital intervention aimed at increasing vaccine uptake.

Aftermath of Covid -19 Pandemic in the community

2021 ◽  
pp. 498-500
Author(s):  
Sholly. CK
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
Antiviral Treatment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Respiratory Illnesses ◽  
The World ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

Novel corona virus (COVID-19) is an infectious condition, which can be spread directly or indirectly from one person to another and causes respiratory illnesses, range from common cold to acute respiratory syndrome. The first cases of this virus were found in Wuhan, China. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 is serious health concern and has higher risk for severe illness and spreading rapidly all over the world.This novel coronavirus was named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by WHO in February 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus disease 2019 a pandemic, in the year2020 March. A global coordinated effort is needed to stop the further spread of the virus. Among all cases about 92% of the confirmed cases were recorded from China. Initial reports suggest that death rate ranges from 1% to 2% which varies in the study and country. The most of the death have occurred in patients over 50 years of age followed by young children. For the confirmed cases which included both laboratory and clinically diagnosed till now there is no specific antiviral treatment recommended but there is vaccine currently available. Once the virus develops in people, corona viruses can be spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. The viral material hangs out in these droplets and can be breathed into the respiratory tract, where the virus can then lead to an infection. Repercussions of Covid -19 on individuals, families and on front line warriors are countless1.

Factors Affecting Resiliency Among Volunteers in Disasters: A Systematic Literature Review

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Hasan Ghodsi ◽  
Sanaz Sohrabizadeh ◽  
Reaza Khani Jazani ◽  
Amir Kavousi
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
International Committee ◽  
World Health ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Health Organization

ABSTRACT Objective: Volunteers need considerable resiliency to cope with formidable challenges during their operations in disaster scenes. The present study was conducted to identify factors affecting the different aspects of resiliency among volunteers in disasters. Material and Methods: The databases of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, World Health Organization Library, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Library, PsycArticles, and SafetyLit were searched until September 29, 2018. The main search terms were resiliency, disaster, humanitarian aid worker, and volunteer. Results: A total of 548 documents were obtained and screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A number of 8 documents was selected for the final analysis. The main factors contributing to the resilience of volunteers at the 3 stages of pre-, during, and post-disasters were classified into 3 groups of individual, environmental, and organizational. Important factors affecting resilience of volunteers in disasters included previous disaster response experience and disaster-related training. Conclusion: Resiliency should be deemed integral to relief operations. Considering the main factors affecting volunteers’ resiliency, it is highly suggested that organizations active in humanitarian endeavors explore the factors impacting on resilience among their volunteers via various research methods and seek to select those with higher degrees of resilience in order to avert untoward consequences in their missions.

scholarly journals The Incidence of Bleeding and the Factors That Influence Its Development among Patients Admitted With Dengue Fever

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
Krishna Bahadur Thapa ◽  
Namrata KC ◽  
T Koirala ◽  
A Bhatttarai
Keyword(s):  
Platelet Count ◽  
Dengue Fever ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
World Health ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Health Organization

Background: Dengue virus is now classified as a major global health threat by the World Health Organization. Bleeding is a common complication and is one of the most feared. There is an increase incidence in the adult population, hence, the focus of this study.Objectives: To determine the incidence of bleeding and the factors that influence its development among patients admitted with dengue fever at Fatima Medical Center, Phillipines from January 2009 to December 2011.Methods: This is a case control study using chart review. The incidence of bleeding is calculated using risk ratio. Factors affecting bleeding are determined using chi square for qualitative variables and T-test or ANOVA for quantitative variables. Simultaneous determination of factors association with bleeding will be analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Level of significance will be set at alpha = 0.05.Results: The female sex is significantly more prone to develop bleeding (p=0.044). There is no significant increase in bleeding in patients who have co-morbidities (p=0.447). In every one unit increase in WBC (1 x 109) the odds of bleeding decrease by 15%. For every one unit increase in hematocrit the odds of bleeding decreases by 6.8%. For every one unit increase in platelet count the odds of bleeding decreases by 3% that is every 10 unit increase in platelet count the odds of bleeding decrease by 22.9%.Conclusions: Female sex, a low initial WBC and platelet count will increase a patient’s propensity to develop bleeding.Journal of Gandaki Medical College Volume, 09, Number 2, July December  2016, page: 23-28

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