Hospital commemorates Pharmacy Month
The Ueckerman Clinic raised awareness among patients about the importance of vaccinations.
To commemorate Pharmacy Month in September, the Heidelberg Hospital opted to share valuable pharmaceutical expertise with patients at the Heidelberg Ueckerman Clinic.
During the outreach on September 11, the pharmacy team raised awareness among the patients about the importance of vaccinating their children from birth until age 12, as per the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in South Africa (EPI-SA) childhood immunisation schedule.
Rhode Boon from the team explained the effectiveness of vaccines when administered.
“Vaccines are used to stimulate the system to specific infectious diseases or pathogens, prepared from an inactivated or weakened form of the agent. Vaccines give your body a bit of the disease to build your immune system against it. So, when your body is exposed to this specific disease or pathogen, the immune system recognises it and can fight it. The main factor is to eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases,” Boon said.
After the information-sharing slot, a Q&A session followed, where participants bagged themselves small tokens of appreciation.
On September 12, Heidelberg Hospital pharmacist Kopano Pila and pharmacist assistant Mapulane Nku did a presentation for the hospital’s medical officers.
The topic was Immunisation in South Africa, which included updates on the EPI schedule and new vaccines introduced in the SA health sector. The medical officers were urged to educate patients on the importance of vaccinations and encourage parents to catch up on any of their children’s missed vaccinations.
“We must eradicate childhood infectious diseases, which could be very serious and some deadly. Eradication is through vaccination. Let us all vaccinate our children,” Kopano concluded.
