Dr Angel Ho Yun Ying has been a practising doctor for over a decade now and is currently in training to become a specialist in caring for the elderly. As a geriatric fellow, her focus has very much been on the elderly in a work setting.
But her life’s juxtaposition is having to focus on the elderly all day long while also being a mother to two young boys. Her two sons, aged three and five, are a stark contrast and a burst of energy compared to her usual “companions” at work.
So it is understandable, though at first a little shocking, that Dr Ho herself had missed out on some key vaccines to give her kids despite being a doctor. In fact, her story is a warning to other parents that oversights happen to the best of us.
“Both of my children have completed vaccinations under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP). They have also gotten their pneumococcal vaccine which was not initially part of the NIP,” she shares. But in the rush of things of being a new mother (and even a second-time mother) and juggling her career, other vaccinations had slipped her mind.
“By the time I realised that my children were due for the rotavirus and chickenpox vaccines, it was too late. It had just simply slipped my mind due to my busy schedule, as they are not listed in the compulsory list of vaccines,” she adds.
Rotavirus and Chickenpox
What are these diseases and why is it so important to get your kids vaccinated if it is not part of the current National Immunisation Programme?
Rotavirus is a virus that affects the intestinal tract resulting in diarrhoea, vomiting and fever too, and is found in the baby’s poop.
A caretaker, like a nanny or a parent, could potentially be a carrier for the virus when we are cleaning the baby’s dirty diaper, and the virus gets in contact with our hands, then contaminates anything we touch after that. Then, the baby could touch these contaminated surfaces or objects, and if they put their hands in their mouth, the virus will infect them.
If the child is infected, symptoms will start appearing after 2 days of contracting the virus. Alongside vomiting or diarrhoea, your baby might also lose their appetite. For babies, not having an appetite means that they won’t drink their milk, which could lead to dehydration(1) and in severe cases, death(2).
Chickenpox, on the other hand, is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. A child can start showing symptoms anywhere from 1-3 weeks after catching the virus. Symptoms start with an itchy rash outbreak on the whole body and the blisters will be filled with fluid.
In complicated cases, the child could end up with bacterial skin infections, a bloodstream infection, pneumonia or worse still, inflammation or swelling of the brain (encephalitis, cerebellar ataxia). In the most extreme cases, chickenpox can even lead to death due to such complications(3).
A Mistake She Regrets
So it comes as no surprise that not having vaccinated her kids for these diseases was a mistake that Dr Ho regrets. With the risks that these diseases bring, any parent would want to protect their child to the best of their ability. And Dr Ho believes that what parents can do to protect their kids in the best possible way is to vaccinate.
On top of which, hygiene is also a top priority of hers to ensure the well-being of her kids. She believes the combination of both is what can protect kids and keep them in good health as much as possible.
Though hygiene played a big part in her mission to keep the kids safe from such harm, she does confess that if she had paid closer attention to the missed immunisations, she would have felt more at ease, especially when putting her kids in the care of others.
“As we know, the varicella virus can cause encephalitis and pneumonia. Acute gastroenteritis (resulting from rotavirus) in young children can also potentially cause severe dehydration requiring hospitalisation. I was very blessed never to have experienced this despite missing out on the vaccines but I do hope to share with other parents on the importance of adding these vaccines to their own version of a full vaccine list in Malaysia for kids,” she elaborates.
“I definitely feel that more education programmes are needed, aimed at both healthcare workers and the public regarding non-compulsory vaccines. It can be easy to overlook these aspects without occasional reminders.
The seriousness of contracting the actual illnesses should also be reiterated. Webinars, live events and even posters can be useful in this regard,” she adds.
She adds that she feels regretful that she did not pay closer attention to this. Kids who are not vaccinated against such diseases are put at unnecessary risk for potential disease transmission and complications.
Adding full vaccine list in Malaysia for kids to your diaries
The key takeaway that Dr Ho wanted to emphasise to parents is that the full vaccine list in Malaysia for kids should be added to your calendars as soon as you find out you’re pregnant.
Because once you get pregnant, the whirlwind speed at which parenthood happens can really overwhelm you and this can be inadvertently pushed to the backburner.
Here is the full vaccine list in Malaysia for kids that go above and beyond the NIP that parents should consider right off the bat:
- Rotavirus
- Meningococcal
- Influenza
- Varicella (chickenpox)
- Cholera
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis A
“I would like to tell parents the best way we can protect our children from infectious diseases is through vaccination, besides also ensuring a good hygiene environment for them. Start planning from day one, make appointments with your medical practitioners and set reminders so you provide the best protection for your kids,” Dr Ho encourages.
“There are 2 ways to develop antibodies towards certain diseases. The first way is after getting infected– but this may mean the infections can be serious and potentially life-threatening. The second and safer way is through immunisation,” she explains.
“Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to build our immune system. After the jab, there may be some minor reaction which is usually self-limiting. Antibodies then develop without suffering from the actual illness,” she says.
Not only do we protect our children from the disease itself, she adds, we are also protecting the community of kids around our children from spreading the disease.
For the vaccines to be so readily available at clinics and also at an affordable price point, parents can take this active step in ensuring their kids are protected and also be responsible towards their overall community.
Speaking to the hearts of parents, Dr Ho knows and understands that parents would never want to see their kids suffer from illnesses. It can be heartbreaking for a mother to watch her child go through an illness. So we should not subject others’ to that potential harm too.
She urges parents not to overlook the vaccines like she had and to protect kids from as many of these preventable illnesses as possible.
Speak to your doctor about getting your child’s health protection on track today or find a clinic near you here.
MY-VVX-00066 Sep/2021
References:
- WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.
- Lim, B. Y. (2016, May 24). Rotavirus Vaccine. PORTAL MyHEALTH. www.myhealth.gov.my/en/rotavirus-vaccine/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 28). Chickenpox (Varicella) Complications. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/complications.html#:~:text=Chickenpox%20can%20alsoo%20cause%20death,disease%20from%20their%20unvaccinated%20children.
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