Measles vaccination drive for children begins Sunday

The government will launch an emergency measles vaccination campaign for children aged between six months and 10 years from Sunday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said on Wednesday.

The minister shared the information with reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
He said as an emergency measure, around 21.9 million doses of measles vaccines will be procured from Gavi, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.

Besides, the government has cancelled all leave for field-level health workers from Thursday to ensure smooth implementation of the emergency measles vaccination campaign, said the minister, reports UNB.

All vaccinators will work under the supervision of local health officials and remain actively engaged in field operations, he added.

The minister said vaccines and syringes will be distributed to all upazilas, with priority given to the most affected areas, by Wednesday and Thursday.

“Within the next two days, we will send vaccines and syringes to rural areas, he added.

Highlighting government efforts to deal the measles outbreak, the minister said the authorities have responded swiftly to the situation despite its severity. “Although there have been some casualties, we have managed the situation effectively by quickly arranging facilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, adequate ward management has been ensured in different hospitals, while ventilators have been rapidly collected from the private sector to support critical patients so that children do not die due to lack of oxygen.

The minister warned that measles-related pneumonia significantly increases the risk of death, as it leads to mucus buildup in the lungs, reducing oxygen supply and pushing patients toward critical conditions.
He also said the Health Ministry and icddr,b have jointly started working to prevent child deaths caused by measles and associated pneumonia.

icddr,b proposed the use of an innovative and cost-effective ‘bubble CPAP’ technology to help reduce respiratory complications among children, he said.

Measles cases are rising in the country with hospitals reporting increased admissions and child deaths.
A number of children died from measles in different parts of the country including Dhaka and Rajshahi districts.