SEMPORNA – The Health Ministry (MoH) is tracing cases of babies or children dropping out of immunisation during the movement control order (MCO) to reschedule the required jabs, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.
He said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic caused the number of children getting various immunisations at health clinics to decline then as parents were worried about the spread of Covid-19, leading to them skipping appointment dates.
“All parents and guardians are advised to check their children’s immunisation records, and if they have missed any immunisations, to get new appointments at the health clinic.
“If parents or guardians are not sure whether their children have missed any immunisations, they can contact or go directly to the nearest health clinic to check their immunisation records,” he said when speaking at the opening of the National Immunisation Week 2022 here today.
According to Noor Azmi, under the National Immunisation Programme for infants and children, there are 11 types of vaccines given to prevent 13 diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, and rubella.
In the meantime, Noor Azmi said MoH planned to hold an immunisation tour according to zones by the end of this year to improve immunisation coverage and increase general knowledge about immunisation and vaccines.
On the National Immunisation Week celebration, he said free Covid-19 jabs under the National Children’s Immunisation Programme for children aged 5 to 11 would be dispensed for five days from June 20 to 24 via walk-ins at health clinics in every state.
Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin said more than 795,000 children under 15 in Sabah had received complete vaccinations for various types of vaccines through the National Immunisation Programme, but an estimated 79,000 children have dropped out.
“Therefore, the Sabah Health Department in collaboration with other agencies will continue to provide immunisations until the number of children who have dropped out of the vaccine is at a minimum,” she added. – Bernama, June 16, 2022
