Vacuna! (Part 2)
So as we head from house to house spreading the joy of vaccines to the small children I learn a few things about the public health system here in Guatemala.
First off, unlike in the US, vaccination here is not an obligation. Rates of vaccination for polio and measles are in the 50-60 percent range in this district. (The WHO estimates that for all of Guatemala the numbers are closer to 91 percent for measles and 85 for polio). In contrast, in the US rates are around 92 or 93 percent.
So in a country where the government sends people door to door to give vaccines and balloons out I am surprised when a few of the households we stop at state that they do not want the vaccine. I ask why expecting an answer that involves government conspiracy, or as at home, fear of long range developmental side effects. But the nurse I am with says that no, the families just think the vaccines cause fevers and they do not want them.
This, she says, is a population we need to work more with.
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