About 450,000 babies targeted in new measles immunisation campaign in C/R

Health officials in the Central Region will embark on a renewed measles vaccination campaign, targeting 450,000 babies aged nine months to 59 months across all 22 districts of the region. The exercise starts from Wednesday, October 2 to Sunday, October 6. The exercise seeks to provide lifelong protection for the babies against the deadly viral disease and would be accompanied by vitamin A supplements. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease which affects the respiratory tract and causes high fever, cough, runny nose and body rash in infected persons and could lead to death. It spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. The Central region recorded seven cases of measles in Upper Denkyira East and three cases in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa in the second quarter of the year, which cases have since been treated with no fatalities. Dr Jojo Cobbinah, Central Regional Deputy Director of Public Health, indicated that the vaccination campaign had been informed by a drop in the coverage in 2022 and 2023, creating a gap and putting more children at risk. He explained that the health personnel would pitch camps in communities and visit homes and schools to administer the vaccines and encouraged parents with eligible babies to cooperate with health officials to get their babies vaccinated, assuring that the vaccines were safe. Dr Cobbinah said the Directorate had put measures in place to promptly deal with adverse reactions that might occur in some babies. 'If the children can take the vaccines, they are protected for life. In the absence of the measles vaccines, they are likely to be exposed to the measles infection, which could lead to loss of lives,' he noted. 'We don't want to get there, that is why we are making sure that every child is protected from measles,' he added. Dr Cobbinah entreated the media to sensitise the public on the immunisation campaign to drive maximum participation. Source: Ghana News Agency