PETALING JAYA: Parents are urging anti-vaxxers to stop spreading misinformation, which is putting their children at risk.
Event consultant Bob Faizeli said all his five children were vaccinated under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP).
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“During that time, my children would visit the public health clinics according to the vaccine schedule set by the Health Ministry,” he said, adding that vaccines were important to protect children from harmful diseases.
Bob said he was thankful that the government had provided Malaysians with free immunisation.
Customer service assistant Ameera Ahmad, 35, said unvaccinated children could spread dangerous diseases to other children, adding that anti-vax groups had been spreading misinformation rampantly through social media and chat groups.
“One of the most common excuses is that vaccines cause autism. However, this has been proven to be untrue,” said Ameera, whose own child is vaccinated as it is also a prerequisite for school admission.
“If there is something that prevents illness for the benefit of your child and other children, and you don’t take it, you are denying your child the right to live a healthy life,” she said.
Stay-at-home mother Kelly Lim, 45, takes vaccination seriously and recently got her daughters vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV).
“Childhood vaccination is important because I am not just protecting my children, but also other children,” she said.
Parents, added Lim, should not be doubting vaccines as these had gone through many rounds of safety testing.
But a mother who wished to be known only as Lee, admitted that both of her sons were not vaccinated under the NIP.“I don’t trust vaccines,” she said, adding that she also does not rely on any medication when her children get sick and prefers home remedies.
