DUSHANBE, October 5, 2010, Asia-Plus — Almost 2.7 million children under 15 years of age are being vaccinated during the new round of polio immunization that started in Tajikistan yesterday, according to the UNCEF CO in Tajikistan.
This round on October 4-8 is the fifth in a series of supplementary immunization days organized by the Ministry of Health with the support of UNICEF, WHO and other international partners to stop a polio outbreak in the country.
Previous rounds of the campaign have been successful in bringing down the number of polio cases in the country. The new round will aim at maximizing children’s protection against the disease by boosting their immunity against all three types of polio virus. The vaccine used in four previous immunization rounds this year was only effective against the type of the virus that caused the outbreak in Tajikistan. The vaccine that will be used during the fifth and sixth rounds will also protect children from other types of the virus that exist in neighboring countries, such as Afghanistan. With support of partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), 3.5 million doses of the life-saving vaccine have been already delivered by UNICEF.
“Each dose of vaccine counts and it will strengthen children’s immunity against polio and effectively protect children’s health against the disease, in particular against all three types of polio virus”, notes Dr Pavel Ursu, WHO Representative/Head of WHO Country office in the Republic of Tajikistan. Immunization is the only protection against polio and ensuring that all children under 15 years are vaccinated during fifth and sixth rounds is essential to protect the immunity and stop the transmission of the virus.
“I would like to call on all parents and caregivers in the country to vaccinate their children against polio during this fifth round,” says Hongwei Gao, UNICEF Country Representative in the Republic of Tajikistan. “Together we need to make sure that every child in the country irrespective of where they live receives the life-saving vaccine.”
During the National Immunization Days October 4-8, children under 15 can be vaccinated free of charge at immunization points located in the hospitals, local health centers and schools and other immunization points throughout the country.
