Highly satisfactory immunisation rate reported in Region Five
Guyana Chronicle
January 15, 2007
HEALTH Care workers attached to health centres in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) said they vaccinated more than 95 per cent of the young children and pregnant women in the region who were eligible for immunisation during 2006.
Staffers said they achieved the high rate of service because they resorted in many instances to house to house visits during which they administered vaccines to those who had failed to show up for their shots at the health centres.
“If they don’t come to us, we go to them,” a senior health staffer said.
The achievement was reported during a two day review last week of the Region Five Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) at the recently commissioned health centre at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.
The coverage achieved was described as highly satisfactory for the EPI in the region which targets vaccine preventable diseases such as tetanus, polio, mumps, measles and rubella, diphtheria and mother to child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus.
Those who participated in the review were staffers attached to the 17 health centres in Region Five and senior regional health personnel, including Regional Health Officer, Ms. Venus Smartt and Senior Health Visitor and Supervisor, Ms. Desryn Fraser.
Fraser said the review of immunisations is normally held every quarter with an annual overview at the end of the year or early in the new year.
She said there were no outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases or reports of adverse reactions to vaccinations at any time during last year.
She said the facilities for cold storage of the vaccines or antigens were maintained in excellent shape adding to the successful outcome of the efforts of staffers.
The EPI review process for 2006, Fraser said, is to be completed with the submission of a regional report to national health authorities within the next two weeks.
She added that staffers were preparing for outreach programmes of the EPI of 2007 with the aim of achieving an even higher level of coverage than 2006.