500,000 children to be vaccinated against polio in Western Region

The Western Regional Immunization taskforce has stated its intention to vaccinate 555,438 children below five years against Poliomyelitis in this year’s Immunization campaign.

The vaccination exercise would start from June 6 and end on June 8.

Mr Peter Ofori Tweneboah, the Western Regional Coordinator for the Immunization Programme, told the Ghana News Agency in Takoradi on Tuesday that 447,425 children aged between six months and five years would also be given vitamin “A” vaccines.

He said the Region had not recorded polio cases for the last decade adding that the last time the Region recorded polio was in August, 2003, in the Jomoro District.

He said the country is still at risk of contracting polio from neighbouring countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Nigeria since the disease was endemic in those countries.

Mr Tweneboah said although the last reported case of poliomyelitis in the country was in 2008, it was imported from Nigeria and added that his outfit would continue with the immunization exercise to rid the country of the disease.

He said a major setback to their work was resistance by some schools in the Region as they sought to prevent volunteers of the taskforce from entering their premises to vaccinate the children.

He appealed to the school authorities concerned to stop such a negative practice since it infringed on the children’s right and assured the public that the vaccines are safe for their health.

Source: GNA