Nairobi: Nyamira County has surpassed its vaccination targets during the 15-day nationwide measles and typhoid vaccination campaign, the County Director for Health Services, John Kimani, has confirmed to KNA. Kimani revealed that the county aimed to vaccinate 239,008 children aged 9 months to 14 years against typhoid, but exceeded this goal by vaccinating 282,274 children, achieving a 118% success rate.
According to Kenya News Agency, the county also aimed to vaccinate 65,818 children aged 9 to 59 months against measles, but successfully vaccinated 84,274 children, reaching a 128% success rate. “This was a great milestone and achievement and indicated that the reception of the national vaccination campaign exceeded our expectations,” Mr. Kimani explained.
The director attributed the success to effective coordination and collaboration among all key stakeholders during the 10-day nationwide exercise. Kimani commended government officials, especially health department staff, for their dedication in managing long queues at vaccination centers despite challenging weather conditions, including wet and cold mornings with prolonged rainfall.
Kimani highlighted the excellent synergy among stakeholders, including National Government Administrative Officers, the Ministry of Education, county and sub-county education officers, teachers, and religious leaders from all denominations. He also expressed gratitude to parents for voluntarily bringing their children for vaccination and assured that those who missed the campaign could still receive vaccinations at public health facilities.
The County Director for Health Services noted that the typhoid vaccine would soon become a regular part of children’s vaccination schedules to protect them against the prevalent disease. The nationwide vaccination exercise against measles and typhoid officially concluded on Monday.