Pediatricians issue statement on anti-vaccination: 'Anti-vaccination is a very serious problem...'

The 59th Turkish Pediatric Congress, organized by the Turkish Pediatric Association with the theme "Children are Innocent" and attended by doctors from all over Turkey as well as international speakers, has begun at a hotel in the TRNC.

The press conference held within the framework of the congress, which will take place between May 22-26, was attended by the Association's President Prof. Dr. Haluk Çokuğraş, and Board Members Prof. Dr. Fügen Çullu Çokuğraş, Prof. Dr. Ömer Faruk Başer, Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Aktuğlu Zeybek, Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Kıykım, Prof. Dr. Özgür Kasapçopur, Prof. Dr. Nur Canpolat, and Prof. Dr. Cengiz Candan.

During the meeting, statements were made on many topics such as nutrition in children, vaccination, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, product recommendations on social media, and the use of food supplements.

''ANTI-VACCINATION IS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM...''

Pointing out that children are the most affected by developments in the world and speaking about the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, Association President Prof. Dr. Haluk Çokuğraş said, "Unfortunately, children are the ones who pay the highest price for wars, migration, and hunger; we are closely watching the great disaster and massacre in Gaza. We are saddened, and we want to make our rebellion and our cry heard. The nutrition of our children is getting worse. Unfortunately, we are encountering more deficiencies in child nutrition. Anti-vaccination is a very serious problem for our country, and we are very afraid. There are some diseases that we no longer see in Turkey, but which we will unfortunately have to face again soon if good precautions are not taken. We want to fight these. Anti-vaccination is unfortunately a very serious problem that not only our country but the whole world is experiencing. This is the case in Europe and in America; anti-vaccination has gradually increased in many countries. The anti-vaccination sentiment that emerged during the pandemic did not only prevent the administration of pandemic vaccines. It also hindered the routine vaccines of our children, even though our country was a country with a very good vaccination calendar where children were vaccinated at rates reaching 98 percent before the pandemic. But unfortunately, these rates have started to drop. 95 percent is the critical threshold for the measles vaccine. Because this rate fell below 95, we encountered serious measles cases in our country last year. I fear that if things continue like this, we will all see that other vaccine-preventable diseases will resurface after a while. Turkey is now a polio-free country, and we did not reach this very quickly. It feels like we are about to lose these advantages we have gained. What have we seen recently? Measles has started to increase. If precautions are not taken now, it will increase much more. There is such a thing in some countries; it should be made mandatory, and there are countries where unvaccinated children are not admitted to school. Therefore, it should be made a legal obligation so that children are vaccinated properly. Secondly, some measures really need to be taken against anti-vaccination. These are things that can be achieved through legal regulations. We are working to at least provide prosthetics to our children who lost their limbs in the earthquake, to improve their psychological conditions, and to provide physical therapy and even continue their education. The Ministry of Health said there were around 250 children, and we have reached 140 of them. Prosthetics have been fitted for a large portion of them. Unfortunately, they will not be able to find a hematologist, nephrologist, or intensive care specialist because, unfortunately, these are not preferred. Now, what seems like our problem will become the problem of the general public in a very short time."

''LOSING A CHILD TO SOMETHING THAT HAS A VACCINE...''

Stating that families should see the right places as sources of information, Pediatric Health and Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Fügen Çullu Çokuğraş said, "Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation circulating on social media. The rates of malnutrition are around 11-16 percent in children hospitalized in terms of weight and height. We need to be able to identify these children. Family physicians and pediatricians need to identify them. We need time for this. The first 5 years are extremely important in the childhood age group. Malnutrition in the first 5 years is an extremely important criterion for many diseases in later life. This is not only related to growth and development, but also to neurological development, the development of the immune system, and some diseases that may emerge later. If we can, we want to conduct a study on sugar consumption in the childhood age group in many countries. Unfortunately, the consumption of colorful candies and sugary products is also very high in children in our country. A physician needs 15-20 minutes to examine a patient, especially a child patient. Unfortunately, we are about to return to the old days, which is a very painful thing. Losing a child to something that has a vaccine is truly very painful. There is no such thing as vitamins being necessary for everyone to use."

''THE BAD PART IS; IT IS DIFFICULT TO DETECT MALNUTRITION IN CONTENT''

Making statements regarding nutrition in children, Pediatric Health and Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Ömer Faruk Başer said, "Obesity, or even if there is no obesity, malnutrition in terms of content, meaning the child's height and weight are fine, but they only consume carbohydrates. The bad part is; it is difficult to detect malnutrition in content. Think about it; a child who gets the calories they need only from bread may look normal in terms of height and weight, but in fact, there is a disorder there too. I think the main rule is to keep families away from what we see on social media."

''I THINK VERY URGENT MEASURES NEED TO BE TAKEN''

Sharing data on the vaccination status of children, Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Aktuğlu Zeybek said, "These are Turkey Demographic and Health Survey data; for fully vaccinated children, it was 80.5 percent in 2008, 74.1 percent in 2013, 66.9 percent in 2018, and 2023 has not been announced yet. In that, this rate will likely be much lower. I think very urgent measures need to be taken against this. I think that currently, screening resistance has also entered this anti-vaccination sentiment. Heel prick test opponents; blood is not taken, and because it is not taken, diagnoses are delayed. This will lead to very serious problems."

''THERE IS AN UNCONTROLLED SPREAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA''

Stating that it is unacceptable for people other than doctors to give advice on social media, Pediatric Health and Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Kıykım said, "There is an uncontrolled spread on social media. 99 percent of them are not doctors; they are other people. 'Drink this, it will be good for your child, you need to buy this, everyone should buy this,' there is no such definition. Every child is unique. I saw it the other day, there is a statement saying 'Every child should use magnesium,' there is no such world. There are also those who say 'I am a nutritionist.' There are those who say 'I used it, it's very good.' None of these should be used uncontrollably, even if they are called food supplements. There is a very dangerous saying in our country; 'Oh, this is herbal anyway.' I honestly don't know how to deal with it. There are those with 1 million followers. Actually, the situation is reaching a dangerous dimension. Unfortunately, this is the case all over the world and in our country."