With the travel industry on hold and countries on lockdown, it seems that travelling abroad may be a long way off for many of us. The documentation that you require to travel abroad is likely to increase as is the time you spend queuing in immigration. It is plausible that you may even require a coronavirus vaccination to travel. We hope that this may just bring vaccines back into focus, as there has been a decline in their uptake in recent years.
The drop in childhood vaccinations in England has seen recent decline, leaving many children unprotected against numerous diseases including diphtheria, meningitis and polio.
Measles was officially eradicated in the UK in 2007, but we have since had to withdraw the status as numbers again increase. A fall in the MMR jab has led to outbreaks across Europe which have spread into England. This is a stark reminder that devastating diseases can, and will, resurface.
Why Has There Been a Decrease in Uptake?
Professor Jonathan Ball of University of Nottingham said that the reasons for the fall in immunisation were complicated. He said it was the sharing of inaccurate information on social media playing a huge part in this trend.
Are Vaccinations Dangerous?
In a word, no. Researcher and ex-physician, AJ Wakefield, published a study linking the MMR jab with autism, but there were so many flaws with the study that it has been widely discredited, and he had his license to practice medicine stripped from him.
Some people suffer mild side effects from vaccines including a fever, feeling lethargic, a headache or aching joints or perhaps redness around the point of vaccination. But these are far out weighted by the huge benefits of vaccination.
Vaccines protect you and your community, they go through stringent research and testing, and reduce disease. They do not cause autism, weaken your immune system, cause allergies or contain ingredients that can harm us in such small amounts. We need to immunise 95% of the population to prevent outbreaks, so with research highlighting that vaccines save 5 lives every minute, that’s an estimated 1.5million deaths prevented each year – it is a worthwhile investment.
The pandemic of coronavirus which currently has no vaccine available, has shown us just how quickly illness can spread. With global travel available to so many people, this only increased the spread from country to country.
Travel Vaccinations
It may be 12m, 18m or more…. but we will be able to travel again at some point, with perhaps some stricter laws and regulations in place. Travel is a great opportunity to look at the vaccines you have had to date, think about any boosters that you may need and find what else you require to travel to your destination. The DocHQ vaccine checker will help you identify any vaccinations you need and makes it quick and easy to book an appointment with a registered clinic nearby.
No one should be complacent about getting their jabs. Vaccination is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and one of the most cost-effective public health strategies. Let’s hope that a reliable vaccine is found soon for Covid-19. Will we ever really know the true cost of the coronavirus – the tremendous pressures on health services, businesses struggling, job losses, recession, rise in mental and physical health issues and loss of life?
What is quite clear from the World Health Organisation is that if insufficient numbers of people are vaccinated within a population, the population becomes vulnerable, and contagious diseases are more easily transferred from person to person.
