The nationwide polio immunization exercise is targeted to capture more than 240,000 children below five years, in the Bono East Region, Dr Paulina Clara Appiah, the Acting Bono East Regional Director of Health has said.
She explained that babies between zero and 59 months would receive Neval Oral Polio Vaccine Type Two (NOPV Type 2) vaccination to boost their immune systems and protect them from Poliomyelitis.
Dr Appiah said this when she visited some early childhood development centers and some health facilities in the Kintampo Municipality to commence the first phase of the immunization exercise in the region, scheduled between October 17 and 20, 2024.
She said immunization was focused at fighting the polio virus in the region, saying “Poliomyelitis is a disease that can either paralyse a child.”
Dr Appiah said the polio virus was recorded in the Eastern Region September this year, hence the need to vaccinate the babies and prevent the spread of the disease, adding that the country had recorded an Algerian type of the virus and that necessitated the need to protect children.
She said the second phase of the immunization exercise would commence November 14 to November 17, this year, and urged parents to participate, and ensure their children were vaccinated.
Dr Appiah said immunization remained the surest way to protect children from contracting virus diseases and infections and advised parents to take good care of their children, saying most of the virus were transmitted through contaminated food and water as well as direct contact with infected faeces, sneezing and contaminated surfaces or coughing.
She urged parents who could not visit health facilities for the immunization to endeavour to wait in their homes, saying immunization officers would go round and to immunize the children in the homes too.
Nana Afia Owusuaa Pumpumatifihenemaa (a sub-queen) of the Kintampo Traditional Area called on parents to endeavour to immunize their children to protect them from infections and urged them to also support the campaign.
