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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu – [email protected]

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care will today roll out a third-round campaign to vaccinate children under five years against polio with authorities saying the last two rounds did not meet the target of vaccinating all children.

Polio is a debilitating disease that can cause permanent disability and even death.

Ministry of Health and Child Care

The administration of multiple rounds of supplementary doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to all at-risk children countrywide is a cost-effective public health measure to boost protection levels among children and averts poliovirus importation from affected countries.

The third round campaign will run for five days up to May 27 and in Bulawayo services will be accessible from all clinics in the city.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Maphios Siamuchembu urged parents and guardians to take their children to the nearest health institutions for the free supplementary immunisation.

The first round of vaccination in Zimbabwe was held from 27 to 30 October 2022, while the second round was conducted from December 1 to 4 2022, with the aim of vaccinating all children below the age of five years regardless of their vaccination status.

“The polio supplementary immunisation activity is the third round targeting every child who is below five years of age. Every child aged less than 60 months old needs to get the polio vaccine this time around so that we surpass the 78 percent target recorded during the second round,” said Dr Siamuchembu.

“We have to repeatedly carry out this vaccination to reach every child since in terms of coverage we failed to reach our target as a country. We realized there are still lots of children who are being missed during routine immunisation.”