Andrew
Sunday Mail Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care will this week roll out a door-to-door supplementary polio vaccination blitz targeting children under the age of five years following an outbreak of the disease in Southern Africa.
The first round of the programme will run from October 27 to 30, while the second one will be conducted from December 1 to 4.
Other countries in the region that have already started polio immunisation include Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.
The ministry’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation manager, Ms Colline Chigodo, said provinces had already been notified about the drive.
“Mozambique and Malawi have reported cases of polio in places that are near our borders.
“Zimbabwe last had a case of polio in 1989 and was certified polio-free in 2005, and we want to maintain that.”
The blitz comes at a time Government is implementing the measles vaccination programme, which has so far seen 80 percent of children below the age of five years getting inoculated against the disease.
Online Reporter