Government rolls out 4th round polio vaccination

Takudzwa Manzero
Post Correspondent

GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, will this week roll out the fourth round of polio supplementary immunisation in Manicaland.

The programme will commence tomorrow and run till Friday.

The fourth round of immunisation is seeking to eradicate polio in the country, following three successful rounds which sought to curb infant mortality.

The nOPV2, which will be delivered through oral drops, is a novel oral poliomyelitis (polio) vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) which was developed to address the evolving risk of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). Polio virus outbreaks put children under 10 years at significant risk of paralysis and death.

Speaking during a multi-stakeholder campaign in Mutare, Manicaland provincial health information officer, Mrs Agnes Magumbate said: “The immunisation drive is a global initiative that seeks to eradicate polio on a global scale. We have been doing a recurring environmental scan which involves the scoop and surveillance of the sewers to trace for any polio samples.

“We have been finding evidence of polio in circulation meaning that there are children living with the virus, thereby putting other children under 10 years at risk of this disease. We did the round one, then round two and round three around December. And we are continuously doing this because we have realised that this virus is still present in our community’s sewage and cases of children bring brought forward with the onset of paralysis.”

She added: “We have started the awareness campaigns and preparations to ensure that the immunisation programme is rolled out smoothly, encompassing all children. This shall be done in schools, clinics, crèches, supermarkets, door-to-door visits, designated areas and in remote areas.
“We urge everyone to make sure that every child in their vicinity is vaccinated.”

Ministry of Youths, Art and Culture Manicaland provincial deputy director, Mr Alexis Mwakipesile encouraged young parents to actively participate in the inoculation campaign.

He said: “We need to have a change of mind-sets, and to understand that Government programmes are not there to kill their own people. These outreach programmes are there to help us as a community to alleviate the plight of infant mortality, so let us all get together, and make sure every child gets a life-saving dose.”