SOME UNDER 5 CHILDREN AT RISK OF MISSING OUT ON POLIO VACCINATION

By Nertha Hara

Some Under 5 children in the country are at risk of missing out on Polio Vaccination due to lack of awareness on the vaccination campaign in some parts of the country.

The fears emanate from reports that there was a low turnout of parents on the first day of Polio vaccination on Monday.

For the past 29 years the country had not recorded any Polio case, but the latest case found in Lilongwe has prompted Government to launch a Polio Vaccination Campaign for Under 5 Children across the country.

On a visit to Mtsilidza in Lilongwe, Timveni  discovered that parents shunned the campaign due to lack of adequate civic education in the area.

In random interviews, some of the parents argued that their children were already vaccinated in the past therefore they considered this latest vaccination campaign irrelevant.

On the other hand, there are also some misconceptions that the Polio vaccine is linked to the Covid-19 vaccine, therefore some parents fear for the health of their children due to myths surrounding Covid vaccination.

In an interview with one of the parents, Cecilia Foster, observed that there is a need for civic education among people in communities like Mtsiliza because there is a lot of misinformation on Polio Vaccination.

According to a Health Surveillance Assistant, Salome Nyirenda, government and other organizations have a responsibility of advocating for Polio Vaccination seriously so that more children could get vaccinated.

Nyirenda also expressed concern that some children are going to the vaccination centres alone without parents or guardians.

Government is targeting to vaccinate about 2.9 million Under the age of 5 children during the Polio Vaccination Campaign.