HUNDREDS of Bulawayo residents visited clinics and schools to get their children vaccinated against polio as the National Polio Vaccination campaign started yesterday.
The National Polio Vaccination Campaign which will end on Sunday is targeting at least 95 percent of the about 2,5 million children under the age of five years.
Chronicle visited clinics and schools in suburbs such as Old Magwegwe, Pelandaba, Cowdray Park and Tshabalala.
There were long queues of parents and guardians who were waiting with their children to be vaccinated at some clinics.
There were also mobile vaccination teams which were moving around to administer the vaccine.
Some parents were complaining that the process was moving at a snail’s pace at some clinics as nurses were also attending to other everyday health needs of communities.
They said the turn out of people in large numbers proved that vaccination is important to them and their children’s health.
Some said they sacrificed their time from work to make sure that their children are vaccinated.
A Tshabalala suburb resident, Mrs Philda Mguni said her child got the dose.
“The vaccination is crucial in order to protect my child from the outbreak of the disease. I believe it is wiser to prevent a disease than to deal with it when the situation is now critical after the child is already sick, which is why I heeded the call to get my child vaccinated,” she said.
Mrs Mguni said prevention is better than cure, hence vaccination avoids expenses by just getting their child vaccinated.
Some parents said they were afraid of the consequences that come with not getting their children vaccinated.
A Magwegwe suburb resident, Mrs Lindiwe Ndlovu said if children are not vaccinated, they may suffer diseases that might lead to disability.
Mrs Ndlovu said she wants a better future for her child and she will always consider her health first.
She said it is mandatory for parents to get their children vaccinated as it is of great importance to their future.
Bulawayo Health Services Director, Dr Edwin Sibanda commended parents for turning out for the exercise.
He urged parents who have not yet taken their children to be vaccinated to do so to reduce risks of being affected by polio.
“Polio vaccination is oral, not an injection, it is safe, effective and the country and city cannot afford a case of polio and the disability that it causes,” said Dr Sibanda.
Poliovirus is very contagious and spreads through person-to-person contact. It lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines. It can contaminate food and water in unsanitary conditions.
It only infects people, enters the body through the mouth. It spreads through contact with the faeces of an infected person and droplets from a sneeze or cough of an infected person, although less common.
An infected person can spread the virus to others immediately before and up to two weeks after symptoms appear. The virus can live in an infected person’s intestines for many weeks.
A nurse yesterday vaccinates a pupil against Polio after the national launch.
In Gwanda, Gwanda District Medical Officer, Dr Blessing Gwarimbo said the exercise started off well in the district with most teams having been deployed by lunch time.
“We have dispatched mobile teams which comprise medical staff to various wards in the district. By end of day all teams had managed to start door to door visits although some started late because of the long distances they had to travel.
Tomorrow is day two of the campaign and we expect the exercise to be in full swing. We expect to have covered our targeted area by 30 October,” he said.
Ms Skhululiwe Ndlovu from Jahunda Suburb said the door to door activity was a huge relief.
She said she was in full support of the programme as it was promoting the well-being of their children.
A news crew observed long winding queues in Victoria Falls as people waited to be attended to.
Hwange District Medical Officer Dr Fungai Mvura said the programme started well without significant challenges.
“We have rolled out vaccination which is taking place everywhere and as a district, we are targeting a total under 5 years population of 21 670. We are targeting 5 418 per day as we received 22 000 vaccines, said Dr Mvura.
She encouraged people to take their children or dependents to the nearest vaccination centre so as to prevent any likelihood of the viral disease outbreak.
Zimbabwe is undertaking the initiative at a time when Malawi and Mozambique have recorded cases.
In Victoria Falls urban, there are 16 teams that will be conducting vaccination at close to 100 centres that have been identified. – The Chronicle
