2.3m children receive polio vaccine in Anambra — Commissioner… 

Anambra State Government said 2.3 million children under the age of 0-5 months have received the polio vaccine in the first phase of the Outbreak Response Exercise in September.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference to flag off the second phase of the polio immunisation campaign in Awka.

Obidike said the first phase of the campaign, which was held from September 16 to 19, targeted over 1.5 million children, but it recorded 140 percent coverage as over 2.3 million children got vaccinated.

According to him, the campaign is implemented by the Anambra State Primary Health Care Development Agency in partnership with the World Health Organisation and other partners.

He added that the second phase of vaccination was still in response to the outbreak of the polio virus in a neighbouring town, Nkanu West, in Enugu State.

He said, “We encourage parents and caregivers to present their children to be immunised to strengthen their immunity against the virus.

“We are also integrating routine immunisation during this four-day exercise as well as birth registration for children to help the state government with data to plan for their healthcare.

“So, it is an all-encompassing campaign. The vaccines are safe and free of charge. We are hopeful that the campaign will be as successful as we had in the first phase.

“We urge the media to take the news out there so that people can understand the need to vaccinate their children against the disease. Vaccinated children live healthy and longer.”