The Bole District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ndapewurche Hajia Fuseina Sulemana, says multiple doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) administered against the polio virus type 2 does not pose any harm to children.
According to her, the vaccine rather increases protection of children against the infection, hence the need for parents and caregivers to present their children for immunization as the District is set to begin round one of mass polio vaccination for children under five years starting from September 1 to September 4, 2022.
The exercise, expected to end on September 4, for the first round will see health personnel’s moving from house to house to administer the vaccine.
Ndapewurche Hajia Fuseina, the Bole District Health Director at a stakeholders meeting held on August 29, 2022 to embark on the campaign for the roll out the exercise, gave the assurance that, “the polio vaccine is effective, safe and free. It has no side effects and taking multiple doses actually increases immunity of children against the virus”.
“Doses given during the campaign do not replace those given in routine immunization and vice versa.
Therefore, parents must ensure that even if their children have taken the OPV during routine hospital visits, they must allow the nurses to vaccinate their children when they come to their homes because it poses no harm to the child,” She said.
Mr Sakara Shaibu, the District Disease Control Officer held that if a population was fully immunised, it would be protected against all forms of polioviruses, adding, “It is critical that we vaccinate every child and strengthen routine immunisation and we cannot stop until every child can live a life free of polio.”
He cautioned that the type of vaccine being used in response to the outbreak was not available at the private health facilities or child welfare clinics, hence once a child missed it, “it means that your child will not be covered and protected against polio”.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly-infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age.
The virus is transmitted from person-to-person through the faecal-oral route.
Someone can also contract the disease when he takes in contaminated water or food, which multiplies in the intestines from where it subsequently invades the nervous system, causing paralysis most often in the limbs.
Symptoms of polio may include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of neck and pains in the limbs.
Treatment is mainly supportive and can be prevented through vaccination, improved sanitation and personal hygiene.
Source: yagbonradioonline
