BAHAWALPUR: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Ali Kathia Wednesday said that during the typhoid prevention campaign in the district, children having age 9 months to 15 years old should be vaccinated to keep them safe from the disease.
He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting at the Committee Room of his office here.
CEO Health Dr Muhammad Iqbal Makwal, Deputy District Health Officers, Focal Person Dr Rao Muhammad Zakir and officers of other concerned departments attended the meeting.
CEO District Health Authority Bahawalpur told the meeting that the second phase of the vaccination campaign against typhoid among children aged 9 months to 15 years will continue till June 26 across Punjab. By the end of the sixth day of this phase, 44476 children were vaccinated across the district under the supervision of the District Health Authority.
The target for the sixth day was 38, 727. During this period, 18, 382 children were vaccinated in schools and 26, 094 children in the community. During the campaign, 2529 children were not present in their homes out of which 521 were covered while the rest will be covered later. As many as 627 children or their parents refused to be vaccinated.
The Deputy Commissioner said that Union Council Monitoring Officers have been helpful in making the typhoid prevention campaign more successful and play an active role in the social mobilizer field. “Parents who have refused to vaccinate their children against typhoid should be made aware of the disease so that their children can be protected from typhoid, ” he said.
Focal Person Dr Rao Muhammad Zakir said that in this regard, a committee has been set up at the tehsil level in the district which includes the Assistant Commissioner of the concerned tehsil, Deputy District Health Officer and a representative of WHO. Later in the meeting chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, the District Emergency Response Committee for Anti-Dengue met.
The meeting discussed the steps taken for the eradication of dengue in the district. The Deputy Commissioner directed that dengue cases are going to be increased after the recent rains.
He said that all the hotspots in the district should be covered regularly. In addition, dengue larvae were found at two places in Bahawalpur where larvae were sprayed side by side and the available water was purified.