Anti-typhoid vaccination drive continues

Schools, govt and private hospitals are providing free vaccination to the eligible children

KARACHI: The Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) campaign resumed on Monday and will continue for another six days in Karachi with the aim to vaccinate the children who have been missed in the last round.

The province-wide campaign was conducted from November 18 to 30, to control typhoid fever. The authorities claimed to have covered more than 90% of the 10.1 million targeted children, aged between 9 months to 15 years.

A senior official associated with the Sindh Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) said that schools, government and private hospitals are providing free vaccination to eligible children.

"Community-based vaccinators are working as front line workers and are supporting us by referring children who have not been vaccinated," he added.

Typhoid vaccination campaign kicks off

Vaccinators and skilled lady health workers have been deployed for conducting outreach sessions in the community, whereas, EPI fixed centres are also administering the TCV to the children between 9am and 4pm.

Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan (MMIDSP) officials said that the typhoid campaign was important to control the outbreak of the infection among children.

It was reiterated that the vaccine was safe and effective, however, like all injectable vaccines, it can cause local pain and transient and low fever.

MMIDSP office bearers said that extensively drug-resistant typhoid is responsible for around 10,000 cases of typhoid over the last two years in Pakistan, affecting all age groups but mainly young children.  

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2019.