By Dipo Olowookere
Oyo State government has targeted over three millions people as the beneficiaries of the 2017 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) against Poliomyelitis and Tetanus Toxoid.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, who stated this on Wednesday in Ibadan, said that the first round of the NIPDS will hold from March 25-28, 2017 across the state, adding that pregnant women will be immunized against Tetanus Toxoid and counselled on health promotion.
The Commissioner disclosed that 1,615,441 children of 0 to 59months are targeted for Oral Polio Vaccination against Polio disease, 1,718,55 women of child bearing ages to be vaccinated against Tetanus while 4,152 children below 1 year (0 -11 months) who have missed their routine immunization schedule will also be vaccinated accordingly with the dued antigens.
Dr Adedutan noted that children between the ages of 0-5 years will be immunized against poliomyelitis, while every other missed routine antigen will be administered on the children between 0 – 11months who have missed any of their routine immunization schedule during the immunization exercise.
He explained that the NIPDs is a supplemental Immunization Campaign geared to ensure herd immunity among the under five years children against Poliomyelitis as well as to vaccinate unimmunized under one year old children against all every other vaccine preventable diseases.
The Commissioner stressed that the state government would not relent in its efforts to improve health care delivery in the state, noting that the immunization exercise in the state is a priority