July 25, 2007
By Lesego Madumo
HUNDREDS of babies and toddlers, many tearful and clutching their caregivers, lined up at the Joubert Park Clinic to receive polio drops and measles vaccinations on Tuesday, 24 July.
The inoculations are part of the second round of a polio and measles immunisation programme by the City's department of health – in turn part of a national Department of Health campaign – running from Monday, 23 July to Friday, 3 August.
It's not so bad: getting the polio drops from City health officials
It is designed to immunise all children under the age of five against the diseases. The first round was in May. To boost children's immunity to polio and measles, drops and vaccines need to be administered twice. Over 90 percent of children under the age of five require two doses to build up resistance to the diseases, according to the World Health Organisation.
The clinic nurses were helpful; beaming all the time, they gave each child a dose of the oral polio drops and a measles vaccination. The children's fingernails were marked, "so that when they are visited by environmental health practitioners (EHPs) at crèches or schools, they can be easily identified" as having been vaccinated, explained Connie Ramela, the operational manager for HIV/Aids at the clinic.
Meeting the target
Ramela said the nurses were making a concerted effort to reach the City's target of 100 percent inoculation by the end of the week. "We are a collective so we have to work together to help all children who come for immunisation."
Two-year-old Lethukuthula Koza had her first inoculations in May, and didn't seem uneasy when she was given her second dose – unlike many other children. Smiling brightly and huddled in a thick blanket, she was accompanied by her grandmother and older sister.
Noticing this, Ramela said, "It is good to see that Lethukuthula has been brought to get the second drop [and vaccination], which means she has completed and won't require additional polio drops or measles vaccines."
More than 700 children had already received their second immunisations at Joubert Park Clinic by Tuesday, and the clinic was expecting more through the week.
However, Ramela said the clinic would not only concentrate on polio and measles immunisations, but also on other health issues. She was alluding to an instance when a young mother had brought in her infant for the immunisations, but the nurses noticed that the baby had skin sores. "So we have to help with that as well," she noted.
Most of the children being inoculated at the clinic are under five years old; environmental health practitioners will visit schools and crèches to make sure that older children get their second vaccinations.
According to Nkosinathi Nkabinde, the department's communications officer, polio immunisation is a key intervention towards achieving the global eradication of the disease.
During the first round of the campaign in May, almost 346 000 children living in Joburg were immunised. This prompted the second round of inoculations.
Antonia Barnard, the City's public health assistant director, urged parents to take their children to their nearest clinics to receive the measles vaccination and the polio drops. "Rather be safe and have your children protected."
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