Commentary Post
Peter J. Hotez has written the research paper outlining the successes achieved through Global Immunization plans. He also shed light on some of the setbacks faced in this endeavor and proposed that changes should be made in Vaccine diplomacy to counter these setbacks (Hotez, 2019). This article is aimed at medical professionals that are working in the research and development fields of medicine.
Many goals set by Gavi, WHO and UNICEF have indeed been achieved through their Global Immunization plan. More than 65 million children were immunized in 2017 alone and that number has been increasing ever since. Deaths from measles, influenza, whooping cough and tetanus have reduced drastically. By 2020, it was estimated that 300 million children will be immunized. The successes of this plan are countless and with a new plan being devised for the year 2030, more positive results are expected. More resources and funds are being allocated to the research and production of newer vaccines. This is a great advancement in the efforts towards immunization as improved vaccines will result in better immunity in people. Many neglected tropical diseases like HIV/AIDS are being studied extensively so that vaccines for these can also be formulated. If these vaccines are successfully produced then the death rate will further reduce. Gavi and The Vaccine Alliance are optimistic that immunization will be achieved in the next few decades as technological advancements have helped in achieving great success in this endeavor.
The successes of the immunization plan speak for themselves however the setbacks faced by the organizations need to be addressed as well. War and political unrest has always been a hurdle in the way of Global Immunization. Conflicts in war and politically unstable countries have caused the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases not only in their country but also in the neighboring countries. Furthermore, there is also an anti-vaccine movement causing people to reject vaccines based on their religious beliefs and rights. This movement has caused the outbreak of many diseases that had been eradicated. Another unforeseen, setback was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that presented a new threat to vaccine immunization. There is an urgent need to address these issues so that global immunization can be successfully implemented. Global health is a very important issue that needs to be solved and vaccines are the affordable prevention method. Policies and plans should be made that allow the organizations to be ready for every predictable and unpredictable issue that may become an obstacle in achieving Global immunization.
Discussion Post
The article I have chosen to discuss is written by Fortesa Latifi titled “Students Face Worsening Mental Health, But How Will Schools Handle It?” This article discusses the mental health illnesses faced by the students and the way it has worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. This article suits my needs as I am a student myself and during the pandemic, everything was performed online. Although it was out of concern for everyone that still does not mean that it did not take a toll on our mental health. Latifi beautifully explained the struggles of students that are often ignored by adults. She interviewed many students that were either entering high school or graduating from it. They shared their concerns with her and the way their mental health had been deteriorating during the lockdown. Professional opinion was also sought out to explain the rise in teenage depression. The article was well-researched and well-written as the author used data and interviews to get her point across (Latifi, 2021)
References
Hotez, P. J. (2019). Immunizations and vaccines: A decade of successes and reversals, and a call for ‘vaccine diplomacy.’ International Health, 11(5), 331–333. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihz024
Latifi, F. (2021, August 26). This School Year, COVID-19 Isn’t the Only Health Threat Students Face. Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/students-mental-health-how-will-schools-handle-it
