We won the war against these diseases, then we stopped showing up

Smallpox was eradicated in 1980. Polio cases have been reduced by over 99% globally since 1988. Measles deaths worldwide dropped by 84% between 2000 and 2016. For a generation of South African parents, these diseases exist only in history books and cautionary statistics, which is precisely the problem.

When a threat disappears from daily life, so does the urgency to defend against it. And the data is now showing, undeniably, that we have become dangerously comfortable.

The quiet reversal nobody is talking about

In 2021, for the first time in roughly three decades, global childhood vaccination rates dropped. According to the World Health Organization and Unicef, an estimated 25 million children worldwide missed out on routine vaccinations that year alone; the largest sustained decline in immunisation coverage since records began. The primary driver was Covid-19, which disrupted healthcare systems, increased misinformation, reduced vaccine confidence, and buried routine health appointments under an overwhelming amount of fear and lockdown logistics.

The ripple effects arrived quickly. Between 2022 and 2023, measles outbreaks were reported in 57 countries, a nearly 60% increase from the previous year. Africa bore the brunt, with Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, countries that had made significant progress against measles, seeing outbreaks re-emerge at an alarming speed. South Africa was no exception, experiencing a confirmed measles outbreak that spread to eight of nine provinces, with children under 14 accounting for most cases. Preventing measles outbreaks requires vaccination rates of around 95%, but many communities are falling short of that target.

Whooping cough or pertussis, once so rare, saw a resurgence in South Africa in 2022 and 2023 after years of reduced activity, a reminder that vaccine-preventable diseases do not disappear; they wait. It is a disease that can be fatal for infants under six months, who are too young to be fully vaccinated and rely entirely on those around them to be protected.

The flu statistic that tends to silence a room

Most South Africans classify influenza somewhere between an inconvenience and a minor illness. Here is the figure that tends to shift that view: the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) estimates that between 7,000 and 12,000 South Africans die from influenza-associated illness every year, a figure that challenges the country's annual road accident death toll. About half of these deaths occur in older adults, with the highest rates of hospitalisation in individuals aged 65 and above and those with underlying conditions such as diabetes, lung disease, tuberculosis, heart disease and HIV.

Meanwhile, April marks the onset of South Africa's respiratory illness season. The window to vaccinate effectively, before the peak, is now.

The uncomfortable truth about who is really at risk

There is a common assumption that vaccines are primarily a childhood issue, that once your child's Road to Health booklet is completed and signed to the appropriate page, then the work is done. This assumption has two significant flaws.

Immunisation schedules extend into childhood longer than many parents realise, with boosters needed at various stages during the school years. More importantly, adults often serve as the carriers through which vaccine-preventable diseases reach the most vulnerable.

An unvaccinated adult who contracts influenza and spreads it to an elderly parent or a newborn child does not intend to become a statistic. However, the outcome remains the same.

Vaccination is not something you do solely for your child. It is something you do for everyone around you who cannot fully protect themselves.

Removing the one barrier that remains

For many South African families, the honest answer to "why haven't you vaccinated?" is not hesitancy or ignorance. Instead, it is a practical consideration involving cost, time and access.

This is where medical aid membership becomes less of an administrative task and more of a vital health resource. Most medical aids including Medshield, have preventative benefits that provide coverage for essential child immunisations and the annual flu vaccine, removing the financial burden from an important decision that should never come down to money. For members, there is no out-of-pocket expense to consider, eliminating the need to defer appointments due to tight budgets.

For families without medical aid, childhood immunisations are available free at all public state clinics, with the first vaccines administered at birth, a fact that remains one of the most underutilised provisions in South African public healthcare.

Vaccination is not reactive medicine; it does not treat illness after it arrives. It is the most cost-effective form of healthcare, but it only works if people use it.

Decades of public health progress did not happen by accident. They happened because many individuals consistently made and kept vital appointments. However, data shows that while consistency is slipping, the diseases waiting in that gap remain patient.