Many parents delay vaccination, fearing side effects and hoping their children will escape illness. However, a pediatric infectious disease specialist from the capital, Aisha Agzashevna, shared a sobering case from the intensive care unit on the social network Threads, which vividly illustrates what happens when chance intervenes and the body has no defense... reports the website infohub.kz.
"I want to share a story from my work. (...) One day, two children were admitted with what seemed like a common picture: fever, runny nose, cough. The first child, vaccinated according to schedule, was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis," she wrote.
According to the doctor, this child spent a grueling 29 days in the ICU on a ventilator, but thanks to his immune response, his body fought it off. The child fully recovered and went home without any health consequences.
"The second child had not received a single vaccination. He was admitted with a simple ARVI, but caught measles in the hospital. He had a mild case, was discharged, but returned within a week due to complications from the disease. In the end, the child died," the doctor reported.
Using these two cases as an example, the infectious disease specialist reminded Kazakhstanis that vaccination is an insurance against fatal outcomes and recommended that parents check the vaccination schedule and ensure their children receive all necessary shots on time.
When should the first vaccinations be given, why is revaccination needed, and what to do if the schedule is disrupted? Earlier, Nurshai Azimbayeva, head of the Immunoprophylaxis Center at the National Center for Public Health, answered these questions. The doctor noted that the National Vaccination Calendar of Kazakhstan serves as a basic guide to help parents track the necessary vaccines and their timing.