Last year there was a big drop in the number of vaccinated, and here is why the collision of smallpox and corona is VERY DANGEROUS

corona vaccine, Photo: Tanjug / AP

Namely, data from the Institute of Public Health “Trampoline” shows that during the previous year, the MMR vaccine coverage in Serbia was only 88 percent.

For the sake of comparison, in 2018 that percentage was 93.4 percent. However, the recommendation of the World Health Organization states that immunization coverage of 95% is necessary to create herd immunity and prevent the smallpox epidemic.

Immunity

Epidemiologist and immunization specialist prim. Dr. Tomislav Radulović believes that this decrease in MMR vaccine coverage in 2019 is not insignificant.

– Smallpox is one of the most easily transmitted diseases. That is why more than 95% of those vaccinated are needed. For other diseases, coverage of up to 70% is sufficient to create herd immunity. In the case of smallpox, it is difficult to create a herd immunity with less than 90-95 percent of those vaccinated – says Dr. Radulović for “Blic”.

It highlights that smallpox is an extremely serious disease.

– There are one to two deaths per 1,000 patients, while several cases will have mental or motor impairments for life. Between 10 and 15 percent of patients will have a purulent inflammation of the middle ear, and five, six percent will have pneumonia, that is, pneumonia, notes Dr. Radulović.

However, he does not expect the drop in the number of vaccinated to cause a smallpox epidemic.

– There are still not enough infected people who would be the trigger for the epidemic. This can happen in some groups where there is a lot of unvaccinated, for example our gypsies. The last epidemic started like this, remember.

Anti-vaccination lobby

That is, until 2013, the number of people vaccinated with MMR in Serbia was more than 90 percent, but in the following four years it ranged from 81 to 85 percent. That is why we are during 2017-2018. faced the largest measles epidemic of the 21st century.

Have you had smallpox?

This was a consequence of the strong influence of the anti-vaccine lobby and numerous conspiracy theories that struck fear into people’s bones and caused mistrust, primarily in the MMR vaccine. This vaccine has been used for almost 50 years and has become notorious after being linked to autism.

– In recent years, there have been hundreds of studies around the world that prove that the MMR vaccine cannot lead to autism. Quite simply, autism is usually detected around the child’s first birthday, and the first dose of the MMR vaccine is received at the age of one year and is therefore associated, but science has long rejected that, notes Dr. Radulović.

He adds that the best live attenuated vaccines, such as MMR, are that these two doses provide nearly life-long immunity in 97 percent of those vaccinated.

– Those who are not vaccinated and come into contact with smallpox cannot avoid a serious clinical picture. Only children who have explicit contraindications, especially immunocompromised people, or those who are allergic and show a reaction called anaphylactic to one of the components of the vaccine, are not vaccinated.

Kovid and measles combined

Epidemiologist Radulović says it is difficult to give an answer as to what would happen if a child with smallpox becomes infected with covid at the same time, but more serious complications are sure to occur.

– Children who are infected with covid infection have a milder clinical picture because their immune system is good. However, smallpox destroys the immune system. If a child has smallpox and co-infection with covid occurs, further complications are likely. Certainly, those who have associated diseases will have impaired immunity and the fight will be more difficult, explains the interlocutor.

Almost 6,000 patients and 15 deaths After 20 years, the first smallpox death in Serbia was recorded in December 2017. At the end of April 2018, 14 more deaths were reported. According to data from the “Trampoline” Institute, from October 2017 to August last year, 5,798 cases of smallpox were recorded in Serbia. Most of them (94 percent) were not vaccinated, the youngest patient was 15 days old and the oldest was 71 years old.

The last case of smallpox in Serbia was registered in Bor in June last year.