Health Minister Chris Fearne today spoke about the importance of vaccinations in view of an outbreak of measles across Europe while speaking at a press conference announcing that Mater Dei Hospital would be offering the MMR vaccination to all its employees.
Mater Dei will be offering the vaccination on the 27, 28 and 29 August.
“Scientific evidence has proven that this vaccine does not cause any form of autism, despite this idea taken root in some countries,” Fearne stressed on multiple occasions.
The drive forms part of a wider campaign to ensure that the general public is properly vaccinated and immunised to the contagious disease.
The MMR vaccine is an immunization vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles). It is administered twice, with the second dose issued within 3 years after the first. If a person is unsure whether they have taken the vaccine, hospital staff stressed that it is perfectly fine to take the injections again.
A person should take the MMR if they did not have measles in the past; they have not received the vaccine; they are not currently pregnant or planning to be within the next month; they are not immunocompromised; have no allergies to any of the components of the vaccine; and have not been advised to avoid a live attenuated vaccine.
During the press conference, Fearne noted that in the last two years there has been a surge in measles cases throughout Europe, particularly in the East, quoting figures which should that there had been an increase from 5000 cases in 2016 to 42000 in just the first half in 2018.
This comes after the newly-formed coalition Italian government passed an amendment which removed the mandatory vaccination for children enrolling in nurseries or preschools.
The previous law, which was initially introduced by the Democratic Party in July 2017, was implemented after Italy accounted for for 34% of all measles cases reported by countries in the European Economic Area in 2017.
With regards to Malta, there have been 5 cases so far this year, with one of the patients being Maltese. The rate of children taking the vaccine is 94%, which Fearne applauded yet emphasised that the government would work hard to push that number up.
Photo Alenka Falzon