Another special nationwide measles vaccination campaign targeting 34 lakh children aged six months to 59 months will begin on September 26 and continue until October 31, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said on Sunday.
The minister made the announcement at a press conference at Secretariat.
He said a measles vaccination campaign was conducted nationwide from April until May 20 with support from UNICEF, Gavi and the World Health Organisation, achieving 102-104 percent of the target of vaccinating 1.8 crore children.
A subsequent vitamin A campaign which covered 2.23 crore children, found that around 43 lakh children missed in the previous measles campaign.
A mop-up campaign has since vaccinated another 19 lakh children, leaving 24 lakh still unvaccinated.
Another 10 lakh children who turned six months old over the past three months have since become eligible, bringing the target for the new campaign to 34 lakh, said the minister.
Sakhawat said 43 lakh doses of measles vaccine have been collected from UNICEF on September 10, while 15 lakh doses are already in stock, taking the total to 58 lakh doses.
“From 10am on the 26th, we are going for a massive nationwide campaign. Children aged six to 59 months will be vaccinated. This time, we will not just stay at campaign centres; we will deploy people inside villages so that not a single child is left out,” he said.
He said a mop-up programme would continue after the campaign to vaccinate children who newly turn six months old.
Deputy commissioners, civil surgeons, hospital superintendents and directors, upazila health and family planning officers and upazila nirbahi officers, among others, will be involved in the campaign.
The minister said most children affected by measles had not been vaccinated.
“I visit hospitals, and 99 percent of the children are unvaccinated. Those who are now dying of measles did not receive the vaccine,” he said.
Explaining the decision to vaccinate children from six months, Sakhawat said the WHO guideline generally does not recommend measles vaccination before nine months. However, based on a decision by the National Immunization Technical Advisory Committee (NITAG), the age has been lowered to six months considering the current situation.
He said children below six months would not be vaccinated due to potential health risks.
The minister said children above five years would not be covered by the campaign in line with the current WHO guideline.
Regarding hospital preparedness amid rising measles and dengue cases, Sakhawat said primary treatment for both diseases could be provided at upazila level but many patients are going directly to tertiary hospitals in Dhaka.
He said mobile hospitals have been kept ready in districts and major cities if the situation worsenes, while the military has also been kept prepared to assist.