The death of two one-year-old babies last Friday following their vaccination at Savai’i has led to independent investigations by authorities and galvanized debate throughout the nation. Health experts have come out defending vaccinations while urging patience until the inquiries are completed. The public was asked if they have confidence in the health system and the health of their children. 

Susana Simone, 34, Vailele

I will not trust the hospitals in terms of the vaccinations provided for infants. I nearly lost one of my child’s lives due to these injections. One of my children received an injection but started vomiting when we reached home. When we got to the hospital I told the doctor that it was due to the vaccine he recently had just a few hours ago. The doctor claimed that the injection received by my child was effective and these could be signs of it. But I told the doctor these cannot be good side effects with that being said, we spent a month and two weeks at the hospital all because of his injection received. I am so grateful that my baby recovered and lived. I would rather take very good care of my own child and leave his protection unto God with prayers than to ever go back there. I express my deepest condolences to those families that have lost precious lives. There is no mother that would ever want to go through that, to care and nurture a delicate life then have them taken away in the blink of an eye. What are the specialized doctors, the Prime Minister, and Minister of Health doing about this matter? If the family sues the hospital, there is no price you can put on the value of a life.

Asiata Sataraka, 41, Solosolo

In my opinion there are some doctors that are worth the trust and faith of the people being put on them to care for lives. With this incident of lives lost, there was a case where one of my nieces was crippled from over injections received by the hospital. My niece was admitted to the hospital, for children’s sicknesses she had a fever, but strong and healthy. The injections she undertook was overdosed and she became paralyzed, could not sit up. But with our great faith and traditional healing methods and she has slowly recovered. But of course our family forgave the hospital due to our strong faith in God and so it comes with forgiveness. It all comes down to some doctors are careless and others are trustworthy with their work.

Vaiana Afemata, 40, Manono

I do not have any trust or any faith towards the system after this incident. I have no faith in the nurses in terms of the services they provide. I only trust professional doctors to take care of these matters. My daughter nearly got a wrong injection but she has a heart disease, she was about to undergo it in Leulumoega but I saw that the colour was not the same from the one hospital and I stopped it. And now that lives were lost, I fear for the lives of everyone that are being taken care of by the system. They should be more aware of what they use like labels on medications and checking if they are expired. I am a mother and I would never want to go through what these mothers have gone through, losing a precious jewel.  

Silia Samuelu, 49, Saleimoa

At this moment it seems that there is a great feeling of fear with taking the kids to the hospitals for treatment. You take your child to the hospital and they are strong but it struck fear deeply within us that a life could be lost just like that under a hospital’s care. Hospitals tend for the sick to make them better but instead they are not getting better but instead lives are lost. I truly have no trust in the system; they should be on guard, for they have people’s lives in their hands. I am truly saddened for the passing of these innocent lives, especially out of nowhere their relationship with families became disconnected permanently. There should be extreme measures undertaken at the hospitals for services provided for the public.

Josie Mansfield, 55, Vaipuna

After this incident of infants losing their lives from vaccines, I will not trust the care provided by the hospitals. I trust doctors but not nurses providing the care for public. I urge the health department to look into these matters for it is a great concern if lives were lost due to the services they deliver. To be aware and prepared with everything that they will handle, there should be future improvements on everything they do. With that being said it is truly tragic that such young lives were lost.