Parents urged to take children for polio vaccination

The Ministry of Health on Saturday kicked off a countrywide polio vaccination exercise that is expected to reach thousands of children under the age of 5 by Wednesday.

Speaking in Gatundu on Sunday, Dr. John Mwangi Kamau, the diseases surveillance officer at Kiambu Level 4 Hospital, urged parents to cooperate with health workers who will be going door-to-door to vaccinate their children, and encouraged those living near health facilities to take their children for immunization.

Meanwhile, health officials in Embu County have assured parents that the ongoing polio vaccination was safe for their children.

Speaking at PCEA Church Blue Valley where he launched the exercise, Embu County Director of Health Dr. Philip Masaulo said that rumours about the vaccine were baseless and parents ought not to deny their children the chance of getting immunization.

He added that since the exercise kicked off on Saturday parents had been cooperating with the health officials who were moving door-to-door administering the vaccine.

The health director noted that the county was targeting at least 80,100 children in the five-day exercise, with a daily target of 16,000 in all the four sub-counties within Embu County.

Masaulo urged parents to be at strategic areas where health officials giving the polio vaccine will be, including markets, health centers and churches.

In August at least 6 million children under the age of 5 were immunised by the end of the polio vaccination exercise.

According to then Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, the number surpassed the target set by the government despite opposition by the Catholic Church.

The Polio vaccination exercise, which focused on 32 high-risk counties, received mixed reactions with the Catholic Church warning that the vaccine may not be safe.

Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri, however, assured Kenyans that the vaccines used during polio vaccination campaigns are safe and have been tested by the Poisons and Pharmacy Board and prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO).