The National campaign against Measles, Polio and Rubella was launched this Saturday during an event on the Costanera de Asunción, in which several authorities participated, including the Minister of Health, Julio Borba, Dr. Fabiana Michelle, immunization advisor from OPS, and Rafael Obregón, representative of Unicef, among others.
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The goal of the campaign is to reach 845,865 girls and boys from 1 to 6 years old, with an additional dose of the measles and rubella vaccine, in addition to reaching 635,980 boys and girls from 6 months to 4 years old, with a dose additional against poliomyelitis.
This is an additional dose, regardless of whether the child has the complete vaccination schedule; if the age range is found, you should receive another dose.
The Minister of Health, Julio Borba, said that many countries still report cases and that vaccination is given with the aim of continuing to care for everyone.
Read More: Health investigates a possible case of measles in the country
“Our country has faced great challenges in the field of health, vaccines continue to be allies to face them. Paraguay has been free of measles since 1998 and polio in 1985, both diseases can be fatal ”, he remarked.
Similarly, he stated that not having cases of measles and poliomyelitis shows that the elimination of diseases preventable by vaccines is possible, and that, nevertheless, many countries in the region still report cases, so the importation of diseases is a threat to Paraguay.
He also said that vaccinating children is an act of love and a way to take care of the whole family.
Find out more: Ministry issues epidemiological alert for measles, diphtheria and poliovirus
The director of the Expanded Immunization Program, Héctor Castro, considered it important to install the habit of vaccination in the population, at a time when the world is focused on implementing a vaccination against Covid-19.
In that sense, he indicated that the coronavirus pandemic caused the vaccination of the complete scheme to be postponed, which is why it should be emphasized again, since cases are currently registered in other countries in the region.
“We are having a coverage situation that threatens the health of our people. We are experiencing an epidemiological situation with confirmed cases in the region, which, added to this low vaccination coverage, we hope will not result in symptomatic cases and transmission in our country ”, he warned.
The PAHO / WHO Immunization Advisor, Fabiana Michelle, congratulated the Ministry of Health for carrying out the campaign and explained that Paraguay is the only country in South America that has not registered a measles case for 23 years.
However, he insisted on continuing with the vaccination process to be free of these diseases, “which also cause death and disability.”
He recalled that measles is a viral disease, highly infections and serious.
Meanwhile, the last case of poliomyelitis was registered in 1985 in the Department of San Pedro. The disease, known as Polio, is a highly contagious disease and can affect parts of the nervous system, causing permanent paralysis of the legs and arms, and in rare cases, death.
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