[DAKAR, SciDev.Net] Despite initial resistance and hesitations, Senegal introduced the hexavalent vaccine successfully, changing mentalities at the local level thanks to communication.
The hexavalent vaccine, prequalified by the World Health Organization in 2024, combines six individual antigens which protect against potentially fatal diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, darling, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB) and polio.
The director of prevention, also spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Action of the Senegalese government, Elhadji Mamadou Ndiaye, attributes the success of the campaign to the strategy implemented.
“People have reacted very well,” he said, insisting that rigorous planning and strategy have been decisive to dispel the doubts expressed when the hexavalent vaccine initiative was launched.
“We have raised different groups within communities and we used various media supports to arouse public awareness, which has given confidence to people”
Elhadji Mamadou Ndiaye, Ministry of Health and Social Action
The latter evokes the vast communication campaign which was carried out before the introduction of the vaccine. It raised the population for three weeks, informing parents about the advantages of the vaccine and demystifying their fears.
“We have raised different groups within communities and we used various media supports to arouse public awareness, which has given confidence to people,” he said.
Thanks to meticulous preparations, the logistical challenges to send the hexavalent vaccine and exempt it could be noted all over the country.
“We have made sure that the introduction of the hexavalent vaccine does not disturb the immunization programs already underway. Thanks to rigorous planning, health personnel was able to gradually integrate the vaccine into their activity, without compromising a high level of coverage, ”says Elhadji Mamadou Ndiaye.
The introduction of the hexavalent vaccine, which protects against six diseases – diphthchia, tetanus, darling, hepatitis B, hemophilic influenza type B (HIB) and polio – simplifies immunization by reducing the number of injections required in the first year of life.
This decrease in the number of injections is crucial to a country like Senegal, where access to health infrastructure can be difficult, especially in rural areas.
According to Elhadji Mamadou Ndiaye, the introduction of the hexavalent vaccine represents not only a success at the technical level, but it also has consequences on the health of the Senegalese.
No new antigen
For his part, the UNICEF immunization specialist Niklas Danielsson, insists that the hexavale vaccine is “safe and effective”. Affirming that “the six vaccines that make it up have been administered to children in complete decades. »»
The hexavalent vaccine, which was selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2024, includes six different antigens, he adds. Stressing that it does not contain a new antigen.
“Each of the six hexavalent vaccine antigens has been administered to children for decades, and we have more than conclusive evidence to say that this vaccine is safe and effective,” he said.
Niklas Danielsson adds that immunization by hexavalent vaccine is as safe and as effective as the two usually associated vaccines, the pentavalent vaccine and the inactivated antipoliomyelitic vaccine (VPI), which each requires a different injection.
“As soon as the hexavale vaccine is starting to be administered, we will set up a monitoring system to detect possible side effects, which are extremely rare and which cannot be detected during clinical trials, as is the case for any new vaccination campaign,” he explains.
The UNICEF expert highlights the advantages of the vaccine: the three doses of pentavalent and the two doses of VPI are replaced by three doses of the hexavalent vaccine, which means that a child receives two less injections during his first year.
“Getting to hexavale vaccine will protect more children from paralytic polio, at an earlier age. The current vaccination coverage of the pentavalent vaccine-it is administered at 6, 10 and 14 weeks-is a little higher and, sometimes, much higher than that of the VPI, administered at 14 weeks and 9 months, “he adds.
He also points out that the immunization by the VPI, in addition to the drops of oral antipoliomyelitic vaccine (VPO), is essential to eradicate the polio virus.
Fewer injections
Niklas Danielsson adds that favoring hexavalent vaccine, which requires fewer injections, also means that fewer needles and syringes will take to carry out the immunization program.
For Katy Clark, program manager at the World Alliance for Vaccines and Vaccination (GAVI), hexavale vaccine is of crucial importance to global health, especially in low and medium -income countries.
She adds that “having several vaccines concentrated in a single dose has several advantages”: vaccination is simplified, and the costs are less for families, which find it difficult to finance health care, especially in war or migration areas.
In addition, the hexavalent vaccine is cheaper than several vaccines, which makes it more affordable, both for governments and for populations.
She explains that the hexavale vaccine will increase the coverage of the VPI, which will contribute over the long term to the eradication of polio and to equal access to vaccination in communities which were disadvantaged so far.
The successful deployment of the hexavalent vaccine by Senegal is an example of the very important role that communication can play so that public health actions are well accepted by the communities.
