Ghana Health Service ready for vaccination exercise

The Eastern Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has made adequate preparations to immunise every child between the ages of nine months to 14 years under the National Mass Measles-Rubella Vaccination exercise to begin on Wednesday.

Boats and canoes would be used for full accessibility to all communities and hamlets identified within seven districts that fall within the Volta Basin in the Region called “island communities”.

Immunization teams made up of four members would be located on the Pontoon at Afram Plains.

Mrs Emelia Okai, the Regional Disease Control Officer, told the GNA in an interview that about 1, 177, 71 children had been estimated to be vaccinated within the 10-day period slated for the exercise.

She said there would be immunization points at markets, schools, lorry parks, prison facilities, health centres and any populated area whiles some of the teams would be moving in scattered communities and hamlets in the villages across the region to ensure full coverage.

She said the team members had undergone adequate training and are capable of addressing any adverse event which might crop up since the vaccine to be used was newly introduced.

Mrs Okai said the safety of the drug had been endorsed by the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and, therefore, very safe to administer to children in the specified age group.

Mrs Okai urged all parents to avail their children for the exercise since it was imperative to save the lives of many children from the deadly consequence of measles and rubella.

Measles vaccination without rubella component had been part of the immunization schedules against the childhood killer diseases in Ghana over the years but this is the first time the country was introducing rubella component in one measles injection to prevent outbreaks.

However, the measles-rubella vaccine was in use for more than 45 years and more than 500 million doses had been given in more than 100 countries worldwide to control measles-rubella outbreaks and transmissions as well.