Some 954,212 children to be vaccinated against measles in Accra

The Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate is set to vaccinate some 954,212 children against measles rubella in the Region from October 2 to 6.

The exercise is expected to increase population immunity against measels rubella by achieving at least 95 per cent measles rubella campaign coverage rate in the region.

Vitamin A supplement will also be administered during the exercise to lower the prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency among children.

Dr Akosua Agyeiwaa Owusu Sarpong, Greater Accra Regional Health Director, who launched Accra’s vaccination campaign, said all children aged nine months to five years were to be vaccinated.

She said the campaign would be conducted across the 29 districts in Accra in health facilities, outreach posts, temporary immunization centres set up in schools, marketplaces, bus stations, churches, mosques and all communities to immunize all eligible children.

She said children should be seated for at least 15 minutes before leaving the vaccination centre after their inoculation.

“The vaccine is safe, some children may experience minor side effects such as headache, fever, pain at the site of injection among others, if this happens, please report to the nearest health facility and your child will be taken care of,” she said.

Measles is a disease caused by the measles virus which can kill or cause disability in a child. It is passed from person to person when droplets containing the measles virus discharged from an infected person’s mouth or nose through coughing or sneezing are inhaled by another person.

Children are at risk of getting the disease.

Symptoms include fever, runny nose, skin rash and red eyes.

Complications include pneumonia, brain damage, blindness and deafness and sometimes death.

Rubella disease also known as German measles is caused by rubella virus. It spreads through droplet transmission and also from mother to baby during pregnancy.

Symptoms include cough, runny nose, skin rash, hearing problems and red eyes.

When the disease occurs in early pregnancy, it may result in miscarriage or the birth of a baby with congenital rubella syndrome.

Such babies can suffer from blindness, deafness, mental retardation, heart defects and a range of health conditions.

Dr Sarpong said the campaign was part of Ghana’s continuous efforts to eliminate measles and rubella, in accordance with the World Health Organization’s global targets

She said the ongoing mass vaccination campaign aimed to provide an opportunity to reach all under-immunized and missed children in order to build population immunity, prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases, and protect the health of children and other vulnerable populations.

The emergence of COVID-19 disrupted routine immunization services, resulting in a backlog of unvaccinated children.

Dr Sarpong said data from the GHS Expanded Program on Immunization said there had been an increasing confirmed cases of measles and rubella since 2022 with a total of 2,393 confirmed cases as at June 2024.

A total of 460 cases recorded in 2022, 1317 cases in 2023, and 616 cases in 1st half of 2024.

Measles rubella vaccines are administered routinely to children and this year half, some 228,779 children have been immunized in the Region.

Source: GNA

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