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Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 13, 2014: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) advocated today the importance of the National Polio Campaign during its live twitter clinic known as #smart clinic.
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 Fatima Sultan Al Olama, Head of Child Health at the DHA reiterated the importance of the UAE-wide National Polio Campaign that provides free polio vaccines to children under the age of five years. The national campaign, which is organized by the Ministry of Health in partnership with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Health Authority Abu Dhabi(HAAD) aims to target 416,000 children within the age group.
The first phase of the campaign will run from November 16 to 27, while the second phase will run from January 11 to 22.
Dr Al Olama said that children born in Dubai Health Authority hospitals- Dubai, Latifa or Hatta will receive the vaccine upon discharge. She urged parents to bring their children to get the additional polio vaccination to further protect children from developing the disease. “In 2013 and 2014, some neighbouring countries that were polio free have reported new cases of polio. To ensure the disease is not the imported into the country and to strengthen the immunity of children in the UAE against polio, it is important to conduct the campaign and vaccinate all children under the age of five years.” Dr Nusaiba Shaker Al Behandy, Specialist Registrar and Acting Head of Health Unit for Schools and Educational Institutes at the DHA, said: “We encourage all parents of school-going children under 5 years to provide consent for their children to get this additional vaccine in schools. 116 schools in Dubai will be part of this campaign and will provide the polio vaccine in school campuses. The remaining 53 schools in Dubai will notify the parents of the various health centres where the vaccination can be obtained.” Al Behandy said that DHA provided additional training for the 116 schools that have vaccine qualified clinics so that they can effectively administer the polio vaccine in school campuses. She added that all other schools were informed to notify parents to take their children to the nearest health centre to obtain the polio vaccine.
The first phase of the campaign will run from November 16 to 27, while the second phase will run from January 11 to 22.
Dr Abdulla Alrasasi, Specialist Registrar, Preventive Services Section, and Primary Healthcare at the DHA, said: “Parents need to ensure both the doses are given for maximum protection against the disease. All 14 primary healthcare centres and Hatta hospital’s childcare clinic will provide the vaccine so parents can go to the closest health centre to vaccinate their children.”
He added that the vaccine is given in the form of oral droplets and is proven to be safe and effective according to the World Health Organization. Dr Al Olama added: “It doesn’t matter if your child is a visitor, citizen or resident. This campaign is open to all and is free of charge. No medical insurance or health card is necessary.” In order to receive the vaccine, parents are requests to carry their children’s passports and Emirates ID. If they do not have that then they can carry their passport or their Emirates ID. For more information on the campaign and the included centres call the ministry’s toll-free number 800-11111 or visit their website.
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