(VOV) – Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has said it is necessary to re-establish mobile vaccination units to ensure no children in far-flung areas are left unvaccinated against measles.
- Deputy PM urges concerted fight against measles, bird flu
- Measles cases on the rise, 3 dead
- Measles epidemic risk rising, official warns
Tien made the proposal at a February 23 online conference in Hanoi amidst worries about the rapid spread the disease in Vietnam.
Measles has attacked more than 20 provinces and cities and caused first deaths since the beginning of this year. The epidemic is detected not only in northern mountain provinces, but also in capital Hanoi and HCM City.
“We need to examine the current immunisation model. Mobile vaccination teams need to be re-established to ensure the community is immunised against infectious diseases,” said Minister Tien.
She recalled that when the national expanded immunisation programme was carried out several years ago, elephants were used to bring vaccines to clinics in remote areas. Mobile units took boat to households in areas crisscrossed by rivers to inoculate children against child-killers.
The Health Ministry is implementing a measles vaccination programme, targeting northern mountain provinces and other localities which have had a low vaccination rate over the past three years.
Approximately 200,000 children aged between 9-24 months old are expected to receive a measles injection from February to April 2014.
Health Ministry proposes mobile vaccination teams Related image(s)
0 comments:
Post a Comment