Polio Vaccination Drive to begin in Kiambu County

Kiambu

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

KNA Geoffrey Oduori

The Ministry of Health in Kenya is initiating a week-long polio vaccination drive in Kiambu and three other counties namely Kajiado, Nairobi and Garissa to combat the regional spread of polio.

This initiative comes in response to the recent confirmation of three cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus in Garissa.

The drive will be executed in three distinct phases, with the initial phase scheduled to start tomorrow 24th August ending on the 28th. During this period, the campaign will prioritize vaccination efforts in Kiambu, Nairobi, Kajiado, and Garissa counties

In a statement, the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards

Principal Secretary, Mary Muriuki said the vaccine to be administered is the oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), chosen for its lower risk of mutating into a paralysis-causing form.

The recent outbreak in Kenya was confirmed to be circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), a strain common in under-vaccinated communities worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously warned that the risk of vaccine-derived polio in Kenya remains high.

Dr. Karen Wairimu, representative from the Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of the campaign, stating that synchronizing the campaign across the four counties will ensure a large cohort of children receive the vaccine at the same time, enhancing polio immunity. ”

"Polio vaccination is a crucial undertaking to close vaccination gaps and will provide children with vital protection from the risk of irreversible polio paralysis,” she said.

Dr. Wairimu further explained the importance of vaccinating all children under five is to protect them from paralysis if they were to be subsequently exposed to polio virus and are unvaccinated.

The Ministry of Health will be working in collaboration with UNICEF Kenya, WHO, and other health partners and target 7.4 million children

The Ministry of Health confirmed that they have already carried out sensitization campaigns in the target counties.

Courtesy ; K. N. A