RAWALPINDI: A two-week-long measles and rubella vaccination campaign starts in Rawalpindi on Monday (today) to vaccinate 2.3 million children in the district.

According to health officials, the national measles and rubella vaccination drive will continue till Nov 27. More than 90 million children will be vaccinated across the country and the target in Punjab is 15 million children.

The number of children aged between nine months and 15 years in Rawalpindi is 2.3 million who would be covered during the drive.

The officials said 328 union council health officials would perform duties during the campaign. There are 256 fixed and 1,556 house-to-house teams which would perform their duties to achieve the target.

Last week, provincial health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid visited the city to review the arrangements for the drive. She said the campaign in the province will be formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

During the campaign, 3 to 3.5 million children will be vaccinated daily which is a big challenge and this would not be possible without media cooperation.

She said the national measles and rubella prevention campaign will be three times bigger than the Covid-19 vaccine drive and every member of society should play their role to achieve the target.

She said raising public awareness about disease prevention was a charity. The role of the media in raising awareness of Covid-19 vaccination has been exemplary.

Dr Rashid said vaccination was a shield against the disease and the spread rate of the virus had been reduced.

“Precautionary measures are better than cure because the cost of prevention is much lower.”

The minister said no one can estimate the plight of parents of children with disabilities and there was no substitute for healthy children.

She said 2.3 million children in the Rawalpindi district would be vaccinated against measles and rubella.

Measles and rubella spread rapidly and there is a 90pc chance of spread from an infected patient.

“Rubella can also affect pregnant women and can be passed from the mother to her newborn and can lead to health problems,” she said.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2021