New polio vaccination campaign to be launched Sunday

Damascus, SANA- Health Ministry, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are set to launch a new polio vaccination campaign for all children under five years.

Starting Sunday, the campaign is scheduled to last until the end of the week.

Health Minister Dr. Nizar Yazigi said in a statement to SANA that the campaign will be launched in medical centers, temporary residential centers and mobile teams in all areas in the provinces to reach the targeted children, particularly in the hard-to -access areas.

Yazigi urged parents to bring their children to healthcare centers or the nearest mobile teams to have them receive the vaccine which is completely free of charge, affirming that the ministry had prepared all logistic and technical procedures for the campaign.

The minister said that the ministry’s “watertight plan” has managed to stem the spread of polio as no new cases have emerged since January 2014.

On March 22nd, the Health Ministry had launched a five-day national vaccination campaign for children under five, distributing as many as three million vaccine doses.

Manar al-Frieh/Manal

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