‘Consider separate shot vaccinations’

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Government should look into the request by some concerned parents for separate shots for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) to be made available, says a consultant paediatrician.

Datuk Dr Amar Singh said the anti-vaccination lobby was vocal and if there were parents among those who were hesitant about vaccination and preferred monocomponent vaccines, the government should consider this despite evidence showing that the MMR combination vaccination is safe.

“Meanwhile, doctors and paediatricians can educate parents about vaccination and give them evidence-

based facts,” he said in response to The Star’s report yesterday about a small number of parents who expressed concern that combination shots could be too much for babies and preferred individual shots.On those who did not want mumps vaccination for their children, Dr Amar Singh said complications might occur if they get mumps during adulthood.

“They face the risk of inflammation of the testis and ovaries, which can lead to infertility, meningitis or encephalitis.

“Boys should also be vaccinated for rubella so that they do not spread it to women, especially pregnant women, if they are infected,” he said, adding that eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases was one of the goals of a vaccine prog­ramme.

Dr Amar Singh noted that the only infectious disease which had been eradicated was smallpox.

“Poliomyelitis was targeted for eradication, but vaccine refusal has held this back,” he said.

Asked about concerns over rare cases of epilepsy following vaccination, he said epilepsy could occur when fever – one of the possible reactions after vaccination – gets too high, but this could be prevented with paracetamol.

“Those with severe reactions should consult a specialist (paediatrician),” he said, adding that those with mild allergies could get vaccinated at the clinic.

A paediatric neurologist said combination vaccine should be used because it showed more “good experience” than separate shot vaccines.

Dr Alex Khoo said there were extensive studies and good experience with combination vaccine and that the misconceptions needed to be addressed with good vaccination data.

“In my experience, single-shot vaccines are not popular but there are parents who have requested single shot vaccines for school-

going children due to outbreaks of illnesses such as measles, chicken pox or diphtheria, while tetanus vaccines are requested as boosters,” he said.

On fear of autism among pockets of the population, Dr Khoo said developmental disorders such as autism and behavioural problems manifest between the ages of 12 and 18 months, about the same time the vaccines are given.

He said as infants’ brains develop and change, it could sometimes regress as autism has a strong genetic basis.

“Autism manifests at some point, but it can also be acquired if they had epilepsy or a neurological disorder.

“This is seen in a child who for instance, was walking, talking and interacting but suddenly stopped,” he said.

Dr Khoo said no vaccine currently given to children contain heavy metals and those who got the jabs in the past with such traces had not proven to develop any neurological illness.

Asked if there were similarities between autism and mercury poisoning as claimed by anti-vaxxers, he said the behaviour of a person with brain damage from mercury poisoning and an autistic person might be similar, but were from different causes.

Dr Khoo said studies in the United States showed that many people with a high level of mercury did not have autistic features and that not all autistic people had a high mercury level.

The Swedish Registry Data (2015), which looked at 20,000 twins and over one million children, showed that autism features had changed little over the years despite more being identified and that there was no causal link between mercury and autism, he added.