Dubai: The second phase of the National Polio Campaign has been extended by a week up to January 29, to ensure the maximum number of children below the age of five receive the vaccination.
The first phase of the campaign ran from November 16 to 27, while the second phase was initially from January 11 to 22 but was later extended extended to January 29.
Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of primary health care at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), advised parents of all children below the age of five to either visit DHA health centres or get the second dose of the vaccine administered via registered school clinics.
The national campaign, which is organised by the Ministry of Health in partnership with DHA and Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) aims to target 416,000 children within the age group.
Polio is an infectious disease that affects young children. It causes life-long paralysis or death and is not curable. The only way to prevent a child from getting polio is through vaccination. There are no reported cases of polio in the UAE.
Dr Manal highlighted the importance of the UAE-wide National Polio Campaign that provides free polio vaccines to children under the age of five. She said: “The second phase of the vaccine is vital to ensure the child receives maximum protection against the disease. Parents are requested to bring their children’s polio vaccination card when they visit the health centres. Moreover, those children that missed the first dose of the vaccine can also take the second dose, either through the school clinics or through any of DHA’s primary health-care centres. The aim of the extension is to ensure we reach out to the maximum number of children below the age of five.”
Dr Fatima Al Olama, head of school health, primary health-care sector at the DHA, urged parents to bring their children to get the polio vaccination to further protect children from developing the disease. She said: “All 14 primary health-care centres and Hatta Hospital’s childcare clinic are providing the vaccine so parents can go to the closest health centre to vaccinate their children. The vaccine is given in the form of oral droplets and is proven to be safe and effective according to the World Health Organisation.”
She added: “This campaign is open to all and is free of charge. No medical insurance or health card is necessary. It doesn’t matter if your child is a visitor, citizen or resident.”
