Today at the Republican Center for Immunization, a briefing was held on the beginning of the days of supplementary immunization against poliomyelitis.
The briefing was attended by the Head of the Department of Sanitary and Epidemiological Safety, Emergencies and Emergency Medical Aid of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population Navruz Jafarov, the Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Tajikistan Viktor Olshavsky, the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Tajikistan Osama Makkawi, heads of health care institutions in Dushanbe and media representatives.
About 1.4 million children in Tajikistan will be vaccinated against polio in the days of supplementary immunization.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to administer the first dose of oral polio vaccine to their children by June 5 of this year.
The vaccination campaign is carried out by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population in collaboration with the WHO and UNICEF as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The main goal of the additional days of immunization is to strengthen the immunity of children under 5 years of age against polio and maintain the country’s position as a polio-free state.
The UNICEF and WHO provided the country with 4.6 million doses of vaccine during May in order to celebrate Polio Immunization Days.
After a thorough investigation of poliomyelitis cases in Tajikistan, the government and health partners have been working hand-in-hand to prepare for and conduct supplemental immunization of children to prevent transmission of the virus. According to the decree of the government of Tajikistan, two rounds of polio vaccination campaign have been planned from May 31 through June 5 and from June 28 through July 3 respectively.
“There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented through vaccination. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. Oral polio vaccine is safe and effective, its use enabled eradication of polio in most of the countries around the world. The use of oral polio vaccine in Tajikistan is crucial for preventing the virus transmission and protecting children from this crippling disease. WHO appreciates all the efforts made by the Tajik Government and health partners in preparation of the campaign and vaccine procurement and urges parents to vaccinate their children,” said WHO Representative in Tajikistan Victor Olsavszky.
