18th Nat'l Immunisation Day today

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina administers polio vaccine to a child after inaugurating the 18th National Immunisation Day and Measles Immunisation Campaign-2010 at a ceremony at her official residence Jamuna in the city yesterday. Photo: PID

The 18th National Immunisation Day (NID) will be observed across the country today to provide polio vaccine, vitamin A capsule and deworming tablets to 2.20 crore children aged within five years.
The vaccines, capsules and tablets will be provided from 1.40 lakh centres, including more than 8,000 community clinics. All the parents have been requested to bring their children under five years to the centres for vaccination.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the 18th NID at 10:00am at her official residence Jamuna yesterday by providing two drops of polio vaccine for some children.
Later, at a press briefing at the auditorium of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) at Mohakhali in the city, Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said all children aged 0-5 years would be given two drops of polio vaccine.
Furthermore, children aged between one and five years will be given one vitamin A capsule and children between two and five years with one deworming tablet.
“There is no side affect of polio vaccine, vitamin A capsule and deworming tablets and quality of these vaccines and tablets are strictly controlled. But the children should not take deworming tablets in empty stomach as a precautionary step.”
The centres will remain open from 8:00am to 4:00pm today. Besides, the permanent centres, some 10,000 mobile centres will work at bus stands, rail stations and other places, the minister said.
The excluded children will be searched and provided with polio vaccine from January 11 to 14. Special groups will work to provide vaccine to vulnerable children, he added.
The second round of the vaccination programme will go on from February 14-28. All the children aged between nine months and five years will be provided with measles vaccine along with two drops of polio vaccine again.
Though no polio patient was found in the country since the last three years, it is still vulnerable to polio while there are some 865 polio patients in India. So, the campaign is very significant, health officials said.
They government officials also said Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Margaret Chan would visit Bangladesh from March 8-9 in response to the prime minister's invitation.
Bangladesh will seek vaccine-related support from WHO as it is planning to set up a world-class laboratory for manufacturing vaccine.
Adviser to Prime Minister Prof Syed Modasser Ali, State Minister Mozibur Rahman Fakir, Director General of DGHS Prof Shah Monir Hossain and Health Secretary Sheikh Altaf Ali were present at the briefing.