The Ministry of Public Health announces a major measles vaccination campaign to start in April 2022. The director of the Expanded Immunization Program, Aida Vargas says the campaign’s goal is to inoculate 951,554 children from three months to five years of age.
Children from three months will receive the oral vaccine, those from one year will get the oral vaccine and the rubella and mumps vaccine. Those from two to five years will only receive the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine.
“It has been more than 20 years since we have had no cases of measles. There was an imported case in 2016, from a visit of a Canadian child, however there was no local spread,” Vargas said.
The measles virus causes a serious viral infection in young children, but is easily prevented by vaccination. The disease spreads rapidly through the air via saliva droplets when coughing or sneezing and symptoms appear ten to fourteen days after exposure.
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Al Momento
29 March 2022