Special measles vaccination campaign starts Saturday, 3.4 million children to receive vaccines

The Ministry of Health has said that this time a target has been set to vaccinate a total of 3.4 million children against measles. These include 2.4 million children who had previously been left out of vaccination and nearly 1 million children who turned six months old in the past three months.

Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said that in the first phase of the campaign from April to 20 May, the target was to vaccinate 18 million children. There, 102 to 104 percent of the target was achieved. Later, another 1.9 million children were vaccinated through a mop-up campaign.

He said that on 10 September, 4.3 million doses of vaccine were collected from UNICEF. With previous stock, there are currently 5.8 million doses of vaccine. Even after calculating 10 percent wastage, about 5.2 million doses will remain usable.

After the campaign ends, a mop-up vaccination program will continue for children newly reaching six months of age. Health officials at district and upazila levels, administration officials, and others concerned will be involved in this program.

Pediatrician Dr. Halima said that the MR vaccine is important for producing antibodies in the body. She called on parents to ensure the additional campaign dose alongside the two scheduled doses at 9 and 15 months of age according to the EPI schedule.