Damascus-SANA
Today, the Ministry of Health received two million doses of oral cholera vaccine, with the support of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Vaccine Initiative (GAVI), in preparation for implementing a vaccination campaign against the disease on the 4th of next month, and in support of government efforts to limit the spread of the disease.
In a statement to SANA reporter, the Minister of Health, Dr. Hassan Al-Ghobash, said, "Despite the shortage in the stock of cholera vaccines due to the increasing cases of the disease globally, the ministry was able to secure the vaccine through exceptional government efforts in order to enhance the health response and to ensure the safety of the individual and society," adding, "The vaccine is safe, approved, and used in all over the world with success and proven its effectiveness.
Minister Al-Ghobash confirmed that all preparations have been completed to launch the campaign, which will last for two weeks and targets people from one year of age and over in the regions of “Aleppo countryside, Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah, and Al-Raqqa” as a first stage, as they are the most affected by the disease.
Dr. Al-Ghobash pointed out that the ministry is continuing to implement the national operational plan to control cases of cholera through three axes of health, water and communication to raise community awareness of cholera prevention, stressing that the epidemiological situation for the spread of cholera is under control and in a phase of decreasing, and the basis for disease prevention remains the use of clean water and food intake from A safe source, in addition to adhering to public health behaviors, especially hand washing.
It is noteworthy that the total cumulative number of confirmed cholera infections in Syria reached
1556 until yesterday, and the number of deaths was “49.”
And the World Health Organization had announced that it would temporarily suspend the standard two-dose vaccine schedule against cholera, to replace it with a single dose. Since last January, “29” countries have reported cases of cholera infection, and the global trend is to report more numerous, wider and more severe outbreaks. , due to floods, droughts, conflicts, population movements and other factors that limit access to clean water and increase the risk of cholera outbreaks.
Rama Rashidi
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