Low turnout at polio points

HEALTH authorities yesterday urged parents to take all children under the age of five for polio and measles vaccination.

Day one of the third round of the national mass polio vaccination campaign started very slowly yesterday, with health officials hoping that more children would come to the vaccination points today and tomorrow. “It is very quiet but we will only have a better picture later tonight or tomorrow morning.It is still too early to comment,” said Primary Health Care Director Maggy Nghatanga.She said they had no reports of complaints from the regions.In Windhoek, there was no sign of the queues at vaccination points that characterised the first two rounds, which were for adults and children.The target is to vaccinate 330 000 children during this round.The children are getting polio and measles vaccinations as well as vitamin A supplementation.The mass vaccination campaign was launched after a polio outbreak that started in late May and killed 32 people countrywide.By Friday last week, the number of suspected polio cases that had been reported stood at 279, of which 197 were found not to be polio.No new cases have been reported since the end of June.The first two immunisation rounds achieved a 102 per cent national coverage, the Health Ministry says.”It is very quiet but we will only have a better picture later tonight or tomorrow morning.It is still too early to comment,” said Primary Health Care Director Maggy Nghatanga.She said they had no reports of complaints from the regions.In Windhoek, there was no sign of the queues at vaccination points that characterised the first two rounds, which were for adults and children.The target is to vaccinate 330 000 children during this round. The children are getting polio and measles vaccinations as well as vitamin A supplementation.The mass vaccination campaign was launched after a polio outbreak that started in late May and killed 32 people countrywide.By Friday last week, the number of suspected polio cases that had been reported stood at 279, of which 197 were found not to be polio.No new cases have been reported since the end of June.The first two immunisation rounds achieved a 102 per cent national coverage, the Health Ministry says.