
Vaccine fear is hurting children
No doubt anti-vaxxers will say we're just paid shills for 'Big Pharma' – repeating what they've seen on social media – but the reality is that vaccine hesitancy is seeing a big comeback of diseases once well on their way to being eradicated.
Thanks to the social media vector and the high-profile appointment of the world's chief anti-vaxxer, Robert F Kennedy Jnr, as head of health in the US, vaccine conspiracies are convincing many parents that jabs will harm their children.
So, we have measles outbreaks from Texas to Liverpool and now Romania, as the herd immunity conferred by anti-measles jabs wanes and more children succumb to the highly-contagious virus.
There have been some child deaths reported – and much more unnecessary suffering.
ALSO READ: HPV anti-vaxxers are risking girls' lives
Even one death of a child because of a backward, anti science belief, is one too many.
The sad part is that the youngsters have no say in the decisions taken on their behalf by their parents.
It's their lives that will be affected – as well as those of innocent children who may be too young to be jabbed and are vulnerable.
Vaccines do not cause autism. But not having them does cause harm.
Use your children or grandchildren to confirm that.
NOW READ: Health Department warns number of mpox cases rising in SA

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IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Healthcare workers could be colluding with Operation Dudula
With scores of undocumented foreign nationals being turned away at Addington Hospital in Durban and other health facilities in parts of the country, the leader of Operation Dudula, Zandile Dabula, has vowed to continue the movement's anti-foreigner healthcare campaign across the country. Image: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers. HEALTHCARE workers allegedly colluding with members of Operation Dudula in preventing healthcare users suspected of being undocumented foreign nationals from accessing healthcare facilities are in violation of the constitution, the National Health Act and the Hippocratic oath they took, says the Health Department. 'We have been alerted of such allegations of collusion between healthcare workers and members of Operation Dudula preventing healthcare users without forms of identification due to suspicion of undocumented foreign nationals, and we call upon anyone with a shred of evidence to share with us so we can act accordingly without fear of favour,' said Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale. He said any security guard employed by the department, directly or indirectly, who assists the protesters block healthcare users from accessing facilities, will be charged for overreaching their mandate which is to protect the facilities. 'They would equally face actions for violating the laws and policies of the country. South Africa is not a lawless and xenophobic country, thus we call upon law enforcement agencies to enforce the law against anyone who undermines the laws of our country,' Mohale said. This comes after a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) assessment to understand the severity of the blocking of non-South Africans from accessing healthcare found some security staff and healthcare staff working in collusion with anti-migrant groups. The organisation expressed its deep concern over the physical blocking of non-South Africans, including pregnant women, people living with HIV, chronic patients and children - particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'For several weeks now, anti-migrant groups have camped outside dozens of clinics and hospitals in Gauteng, preventing non-South Africans from entering public health facilities to seek medical care, irrespective of their legal documentation status,' MSF said. MSF called for immediate action by the department and relevant provincial departments of health to guarantee the right of access to healthcare for all. The MSF-launched assessment to understand the severity of these blockages saw their team visit 15 hospitals and clinics in Gauteng, where they witnessed patients being turned away from more than half of these healthcare facilities by groups of between two and 10 people, wearing civilian clothing. The groups are either stationed at the gate or inside facilities and demand identification from every person who tries to enter, turning away those they deem non-South African. From MSF's assessment, the issue was more widespread at primary healthcare clinics (PHCs) than hospitals. 'Our team even witnessed two clinics where security staff and healthcare workers worked in collusion with these anti-migrant groups. We urge the Department of Health to immediately address healthcare facilities who are enabling or encouraging any kind of denial of healthcare,' said MSF Southern Africa's Director of Operational Support Unit, Claire Waterhouse. The MSF team also visited and called nearly 50 patients who indicated that they were denied access to healthcare in 24 healthcare facilities in and around Johannesburg, Durban and Tshwane. The patients consisting primarily of late-term pregnant women and people with diabetes, hypertension and HIV, have expressed fear, panic and confusion. Most informed MSF that they already struggle financially and are unable to buy medication or afford private medical care. *Thando, a 33-year-old woman, was turned away on July 14 from a queue inside a hospital in Gauteng by an anti-migrant group for being undocumented. She is a 16-week high-risk pregnant patient who is also hypertensive. 'I already knew of the situation at the hospital when I went because another girl had already told me that foreigners were being turned away. But I still decided to try. So, I got to the hospital early in the morning at 7am. There were about seven to eight people in the queue already'. A man randomly appeared holding a South African ID card. 'He waved it, walking around and showing us. He said that if any of us didn't have something like what he was holding, or if a passport didn't have a permit, we should start getting out. The nurses were there, and they started laughing, supporting him. They said we don't pay tax, and they are tired of us. They said we can go; it will be less work for them. Only four people were left inside when the rest of us had to leave,' added Thando. MSF said South Africans who have lost or forgotten their ID documents, or those they assumed 'did not look or sound South African' enough, are also losing access. *The patient's name has been changed. Cape Times


Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Daily Maverick
PinkDrive's innovative campaign aims to screen 12,000 people and educate communities on cancer
In an effort to tackle late-stage cancer detection, a mobile screening drive run by the NGO PinkDrive, mining group Rio Tinto and the Department of Health is bringing key services to underresourced communities across four provinces. A mobile cancer screening drive is bringing much-needed services to underresourced communities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. Spearheaded by the health sector NGO PinkDrive, the campaign aims to screen more than 12,000 individuals by the end of August and provide health education to many more. The initiative, supported by mining group Rio Tinto and the National Department of Health, is driven by the need to address late-stage cancer detection. 'There aren't such [screening] services available in many of the areas… and access to where there's services is… just about nonexistent for the communities… That's why [PinkDrive] took the mobile approach some 20 years ago now. Our whole thing is to take the health service to the people who cannot afford it, and make it easily accessible,' explained Noelene Kotschan, CEO and founder of PinkDrive. 'In the communities, these people that we are seeing are the poorest of the poor. They don't have the disposable income to pay for taxis to take them to the hospital for a service… This is all done on the spot.' As part of the campaign, PinkDrive is providing mammograms and pap smears for cervical cancer detection and HPV (Human papillomavirus) screening, as well as check-ups for prostate cancer, skin cancers, high blood pressure and glucose and cholesterol monitoring. There are 18 medical professionals on the mobile screening team, including a gynaecologist, dermatologist and radiologist. 'Because we have highly skilled medical doctors, as well as trained nurses, we are in a position to immediately refer patients to the closest hospital or the clinic where they come from, so that they can access treatment as fast as possible. Our [memorandum of understanding] with the National Department of Health is to do the screening, and then the uptake of the patients for whom we created a pathway to care is the state's responsibility,' said Kotschan. Community health education PinkDrive's outreach efforts extend to providing health education in the communities to which they travel, ensuring individuals are better equipped to monitor their own health. 'According to our licence, we can only do 30 mammograms a day, because we are… fully licensed via the Health Professions Council [of South Africa], so you can imagine the need versus the number that we can do. However, we're very focused on educating as well,' Kotschan told Daily Maverick. While the screening service prioritises mammograms for women over 40 years of age, the team's medical staff also show men and women of all ages how to perform clinical breast examinations on themselves. Kotschan said: 'We've found that stats worldwide are showing breast cancer is no longer an older woman's disease. The younger girls are also [at risk]. Yesterday, we picked up a 20-year-old and a 33-year-old who have definitely got breast cancer… On those women, ultrasounds are done, biopsies are done.' According to Statistics South Africa's report on cancer in South Africa (2008-19), released in 2023, cancer accounted for 9.7% of all deaths reported in the country in 2018, making it the fourth-leading cause of mortality. Working with communities Kotschan said the response to the cancer screening drive in communities had been 'amazing'. 'There's a lot of ground mobilisation that has been done… The districts and clinics where we go, their community health workers, I must commend them. They've done a phenomenal job,' she said. Residents who took part in PinkDrive's screening efforts at Motherwell Clinic in the Eastern Cape said they were thankful for the opportunity to access health checks. Speaking anonymously, one woman said: 'Today, at Motherwell Clinic, they had such great services from the PinkDrive… I had a pap smear, a lung screening, skin cancer screening, and I got the best out of everything. I would have never had the opportunity if the PinkDrive wasn't a part of it.' Mandisa Mabaso, head of government relations at Rio Tinto, said the company's partnership with PinkDrive was part of its broader social impact strategy, 'focused on balancing economic growth with environmental and social responsibility'. 'We understand that sustainable change requires collaboration, and together with experts and local authorities, we can address critical social needs for a healthier future,' Mabaso said. DM

TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study
An influential US medical journal is rejecting a call from US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr to retract a large Danish study that found aluminium ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children, the journal's editor told Reuters. Kennedy has long promoted doubts about vaccines' safety and efficacy and as health secretary has upended the federal government's process for recommending immunisation. A recent media report said he has been considering whether to initiate a review of shots that contain aluminium, which he said are linked to autoimmune diseases and allergies. The study, funded by the Danish government and published in July in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed nationwide registry data for more than 1.2-million children over more than two decades. It did not find evidence that exposure to aluminium in vaccines had caused an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic or neurodevelopmental disorders. The work is by far the best available evidence on the question of the safety of aluminium in vaccines, said Adam Finn, a childhood vaccination expert in the UK and paediatrician at the University of Bristol who was not involved in the study. "It's solid, [a] massive dataset and high-quality data," he said.