Since the beginning of 2020, the word "vaccine" has been greatly attached to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Pneumonia remains the single most infectious cause of mortality in children worldwide and accounts for up to 14% of deaths in children under the age of five. Experts are encouraging us to remember that there are other types of vaccinations that save lives; like Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCVs). These are the jabs babies get as part of the government's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) at 6 weeks, 14 weeks, and 9 months of age. Also, with the recent scare of a Measles outbreak in South Africa, the importance of childhood vaccination has once again been brought to the fore.
For more on this we are joined by Professor Prakash Mohan Jeena: Paediatric pulmonologist, and head of the paediatric intensive care and pulmonology department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
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