By Tasi’u Hassan
Ahead of the upcoming integrated vaccination campaign scheduled for next month, media professionals have been urged to take the lead in dispelling rumours and misinformation about the vaccination.
At a media orientation on the vaccination campaign organized by the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, the UNICEF Social Behavioral Change Consultant in the state, Pharmacist Innocent Udemezue, identified rumours, misinformation, vaccine rejection, and non-compliance as expected challenges during the campaign, calling on the media to mitigate these impacts.
Pharmacist Innocent emphasized that integrated vaccination campaigns, which involve using multiple vaccines in a single campaign, makes it possible to reach all vaccine recipients with needed vaccines at once and help reduce cost, time, materials and other resources used in multiple campaigns.
He tasked the media professionals to verify information about the campaign from credible sources, especially national and state primary health care development agencies, and promote vaccine benefits at state and local levels.
The Director, Disease Control and Immunization, Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. James Jacob Vusumun encouraged the media to disseminate correct information about the vaccination campaign, and make parents and school administrators the target of their information.
On his part, the State Immunization Officer, Abubakar Umar Bahuli said that the integrated vaccination campaign covers measles and polio vaccination, targeting children aged 9 to 59 months for measles, and 0-59 months for polio.
He explained “For polio 0-59 months, for measles 9-59 months. The targeted group is very important. Also, regardless of their immunization status, even if a child happens to receive a vaccine within two weeks to three weeks, once we come for the campaign, let them allow the children to receive the vaccine, because the more they receive, the more their immunity is boosted”.
The State Immunization Officer, who said that the areas hit by measles outbreak early this year in the state were mostly vaccine non-compliance areas, enjoined parents in such areas and other parts of the state to present their children for the exercise to prevent outbreaks of vaccine- preventable diseases.
“Despite the massive campaign in 2022, still early this year, there were a lot of cases of measles, most especially in Gombi and Mubi north LGAs, and some other LGAs. But these two LGAs are the majority when it comes to the outbreak of measles around March/April. So, let’s try to enlighten people to avail their children for this vaccination campaign. They say, prevention is better than cure”, he added.
Umar Bahuli explained that the polio campaign team will conduct house to house vaccinations, while measles vaccinations will be at fixed posts, including health facilitaties, markets residences of traditional rulers and any other appropriate place.
He said the state is aiming for hundred percent coverage against the 87 per cent recorded in 2022 during similar exercise.
