By Charles Gbayor, maorethason1997@gmail.com
HARPER, Liberia- Ahead of round two of the national polio vaccination campaign, a high level delegation from the Expended Program on Immunization at the Ministry of Health are in Harper, Maryland County to join and support the County’s Health Team for a five-day polio vaccination campaign.
The delegation, which arrived here on Sunday, May 23, 2021, include: Joseph Fayomo Seth, Wilson T. Gaye, Co-team lead, Evon Karpeh and Richeal Kruwah all of the Expended Program Immunization, EPI division of the Ministry of Health.
Speaking to newspublictrust.com on Tuesday May 25,2021 on the main compound of JJ Dossen Hospital in Harper City, Joseph Fayomo said their visit is to roll out round two of the polio vaccination campaigned in the County.
Mr. Seth said in March of this year-round one (1) of the polio campaign was launched while the May edition will mark round two of the campaign in 2021.
According to the Team Lead, the campaign will run for one week across Liberia beginning from May 28 to the 31st of this year.
He said the exercise is a cross cutting endeavor that will take place in all of the 15 political sub divisions of Liberia ensuring that every eligible child under the age five is reached and vaccinated fully to avoid the reoccurring of the outbreak.
“This vaccination campaign is not a new one, the procedures and methodology in administering the vaccine will be applied, door to door, house to house will be the order of the day, therefore, we are asking everybody to work with our vaccinators as they reach to your house,” the head of the EPI delegation to Maryland Fayomo Seth further said.
He disclosed that round two of the campaign is expected to target approximately nine hundred and seventy-two thousand, eight hundred and seventy children under age five will be vaccinated while in Maryland about twenty-two thousand six hundred and forty-four will be vaccinated.
“Just to take you back a little bit, Liberia and other West Africa countries have been having polio pandemic for more than ten (10) years, and Africa recorded a little over seventy-five thousand polio cases, especially African children who were cripple because of the polio disease,” Mr Seth explained.
According to him, the introduction of the surveillance program across Liberia has significantly reduced the number of cripple children especially
those under five.,
Mr. Seth told news men in Harper that Polio is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the polioviruses. “The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis (can’t move parts of the body)” He said.
He then used the occasion to call on the people of Maryland County specifically parents to allow their children below five be vaccinated for a better health.
According to Center for Disease Control and Preventive Global Immunization , “most people who get infected with poliovirus (about 72 out of 100) will not have any visible symptoms. about 1 out of 14 people with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptom that may include: Sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain.
These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own.” unquote.
not have any visible symptoms. about 1 out of 14 people with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptom that may include: Sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, and stomach pain.
“”These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own.”