Africa-Press – Botswana. Parents have been urged to continue heeding health campaign messages especially those concerning children.
The appeal was made by Kweneng District Health Management Team (DHMT)coordinator Ms Josephine Mosimanewakgosi following the impressive uptake of the polio vaccine in the area in response to the ongoing campaign.
In an interview, she said the high number of vaccinated children in the area was an indication that parents were not only accountable but cared about their children’s wellbeing.
Encouraging parents to keep up the spirit, Ms Mosimanewakgosi said the vaccination, targeting children aged seven and below, would boost children’s immune system.
“The vaccination campaign will help prevent the spread of this virus to vulnerable children since unvaccinated children are at high risk of polio infection,” she stated.
Ms Mosimanewakgosi said DHMT had introduced mobile clinics as a solution to the challenge of shortage of transport experienced in the first part of the campaign conducted February 24-26.
A three-day mop-up exercise which began Monday was meant to facilitate parents who did not get the chance to have their children vaccinated during the initial house-to-house campaign.
The coordinator explained that the campaign was prompted by the detection through environmental surveillance of a vaccine-derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVDPV2) in Botswana.
The Ministry of Health has ordered DHMTs to conduct two rounds of a national house-to-house polio vaccination campaign in all districts.
In Kweneng, the target was to vaccinate over 20 000 children in Lentsweletau, Kweneng east and west and Kumakwane/Thamaga areas, said Ms Mosimanewakgosi.
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