In order to prevent the mortality of children under the age of five, the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) reports that the state has added rotavirus vaccines to its routine immunisation (RI) programme.
This was revealed by Mrs. Taiwo Onoro, the state vaccination officer, on Wednesday in Lagos during the LSPHCB sensitization meeting on the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine.
Rotavirus is an infectious virus that primarily affects newborns and young children and causes severe diarrheal illnesses (watery stools), vomiting, and fever.
Onoro stated that 40% of children’s diarrhoea was caused by the rotavirus and added that without proper care and treatment, children who contracted the illness could become dehydrated or end up in the hospital, which could possibly result in death.
She said that the inclusion of the vaccination in the RI programme reflected the severity of rotavirus-related diarrheal illness in the region.
She claims that the immunisation campaign intends to prevent the sickness from killing more than 50,000 youngsters each year.
She said that starting on November 25, the LSPHCB would launch a seven-day rotavirus vaccination programme across the entire state.
“The vaccine will be given free of cost to all infants at the age of six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks.
“After the campaign, the rotavirus vaccine will be given along with other vaccines under the Ri programmes available at all primary healthcare centres and private hospitals in the state,” she said.
Onoro stressed that the rotavirus vaccine was the greatest approach to protect kids against the illness and mentioned that rotavirus was common during warm weather.
Additionally, Dr. Segun Emuju of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) stated that vaccination remained the most economically advantageous public health measure against rotavirus.
According to Emuju, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) must include the life-saving rotavirus vaccine if it is to prevent more than 110,000 fatalities of children under five over the course of the next ten years.
He urged parents and other adults to take advantage of this opportunity to protect their children from all diseases that can be prevented through vaccination.
