By Brenda Kayo:
The Ministry of Health has disclosed that about 8.39 million children who are less than 15 years old have received polio vaccines in the country.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe told The Daily Times that the figure represents 90.7 percent.
Chikumbe said the ministry has since extended the exercise period with two days in districts that have not reached their respective targets.
“We had some challenges such as poor weather in some districts, where we could not manage to reach out to people, and, in other districts, there were delays due to administration challenges such as [lack of] fuel and incentives. But we hope that, by the extended date, we will reach out to more children,” Chikumbe said.
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Meanwhile, Principal Secretary for Health Samson Mndolo has said misconceptions surrounding the vaccine continue to lower the uptake.
Mndolo said the ministry will continue with routine immunisation and surveillance exercises.
He said the next round of polio vaccine campaign would be in September, possibly to ensure that the children are adequately protected from the disease.
