| …as defaulting, hard to reach areas to get close attention in ‘Vaccination Week’All primary health care staff involved in the Ministry of Public Health’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) yesterday commenced “catch up” campaigns for defaulters and hard to reach areas. The campaigns, which will continue until next Saturday (April 30), form part of the observance of Vaccination Week 2016.The week (April 23-30, 2016), which will be celebrated under the theme ‘Go for the Gold’, will see remote regions in the hinterland being a main focus of the campaigns.According to a statement issued by the Ministry, “the theme for vaccination week 2016 is very fitting, and has a very significant meaning for Guyana, since this is our Golden Jubilee Year.”During the observance, health care providers will seek to vaccinate the general adult population and have simultaneous ‘in school’ vaccination campaigns countrywide. It is expected too, that members of the public will give feedback on the programme and ways in which immunization in Guyana can be improved, the Ministry has noted.Other activities include the engagement of schools in art, poetry and essay competitions, religious activities and walks.The Expanded Programme on Immunization is one of the most successful Public Health Programmes in Guyana, with vaccination coverage of over 90 per cent of all antigens given to the under five population. The Government of Guyana’s Policy on the Expanded Programme on Immunization is to provide immunization for all target populations in order to eliminate the occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases.The programme currently administers vaccines for 17 antigens: Whooping Cough, Measles, Poliomyelitis, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Mumps, Rubella, Haemophilus Influenza Type B, Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal, Meningococcal, Human Papilomavirus, Varicella, Rota Virus and Pertussis.And according to the Ministry, there is provision for special populations such as children who live in orphanages, the elderly population in senior homes, and health care providers.“It is necessary that all children under the age of five receive vaccines, because they are susceptible to acquiring vaccine preventable diseases that can result in death,” the Ministry has warned. It has added, too, that “they are the most vulnerable because their bodies have not developed an immune system that can prevent them from getting these diseases, hence the reason for vaccines.”Vaccines work with the immune system to prevent diseases by causing the body to produce antibodies to fight against the germ, so when or if that germ enters the body it will not cause individuals to become ill. A vaccine contains a part of the germ which is either weakened or dead.In 2014, Guyana was awarded third place out of 75 countries for effective vaccine management. And according to the Ministry of Public Health,Jerseys From China, “Our primary health care providers are the faces of this programme and special mention must be made of their tireless contributions in making it a success.”Undertaking the vaccination task requires that health workers sometimes travel a very unique terrain with at least 30 per cent of the population living in the hinterland Regions – One, Seven, Eight and Nine. It was noted that the terrain of these regions contributes greatly to the challenges of this programme, from the many rivers of Region One and Eight to the mountains of Regions Seven and Nine, according to information disseminated by the Public Health Ministry.It was also pointed out that “the challenges of these regions are also due to the lack of infrastructure to support cold chain equipment which is a necessary component of the vaccination process.”Vaccination Week observances have become one of the largest multi-national events, with all countries within Latin America and the Caribbean participating, accounting for the vaccination of over 400 million people within the region over the last 12 years.Guyana has celebrated vaccination week in the Americas from its commencement. |
