Government to immunize 1.6m children against measles in five days

Bauchi State Government says it would immunise 1.6m children between nine months and 59 months in the state against measles in five days.

Dr Mansur Dada, Incident Manager, Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), made this known on Wednesday in Bauchi during a one day orientation organised by the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), for journalists.

Dada said that the state government had set up 1,615 teams of medical experts and 2,454 posts in the state to be manned by seven personnel per team during the exercise.

He emphasised that the posts were being situated in hospitals, primary health care centres and other designated places.

Dada said that the team comprised two medical experts, two vaccinators and a recorder as well as town criers.

He said that the exercise was organised by the federal government to close up the gap that might have been created by routine immunisation and would take place in all the states in the Northern Region.

Dada said that doctors, primary health care assistants, technicians and hospital assistants have bee groomed for the exercise.

He said that Adversed Event Following Immunization (AEFI), kits would be provided at each post that would take care of side effects of the vaccines.

The manager said the AEFI activities would last for 42 days to ensure children that develop side effect after the exercise are taken care of.