Ministry urges population to update vaccination status |26 April 2013

This call is especially for people who are most at risk. These include farmers, people working with animals, those who do home gardening, construction workers and those carrying out activities putting them at risk of cuts and injuries.

Parents whose children have missed out on certain vaccines are also urged to seize the opportunity provided during the Africa Vaccination Week to call at their district health centre with their child to update their vaccination status.

This year’s Africa Vaccination Week, now in its third year, is being commemorated under the theme ‘Save lives. Prevent disabilities. Vaccinate’.
The aim of this annual campaign is to strengthen immunisation programmes by drawing attention to and increase awareness of every person’s need and right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccination also provides the ideal opportunity for mothers and their children to access other public health services which can impact positively on their health.

The theme reflects the advances made in science to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective. Although receiving the vaccines may involve a certain degree of discomfort at the injection site, this is minimal compared to the pain of possibly long-term disability and death that can result from not taking vaccines.

Getting vaccinated is therefore a very worthwhile investment in ensuring a healthy future generation.