Dr. Ziad bin Ahmed Memish, Assistant Deputy Minister for Preventive Medicine, has stated that the National Campaign for Immunization against Measles, Rubella and Mumps proves substantially successful in the first week. The MOH, he added, managed to cover 21 per cent of the total number of students (males and females) targeted at the first phase of the campaign, including the various stages of public education. In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, over 926.914 students, throughout the Kingdom's regions, have been provided the needed vaccinations. He went on to say that the Riyadh region achieved outstanding results with regard to immunization rates: about 235.000 students (out of 1.125.000 students – the total number targeted at the first phase of the campaign in the Riyadh region) have been provided their vaccinations, by a number of medical teams amounting to 1.200, coming from all the Primary Health Care centers concerned with the campaign. The total number of medical teams dedicated for carrying out the vaccination processes and putting the campaign into action, Dr. Memish pointed out, has reached 4.150 teams, doing their jobs all over the Kingdom.
In the same vein, Dr. Salah bin Fahad Al-Mazrou, Advisor to the Minister of Health, and Supervisor-General of Medical Supply Department and Equipment Department, revealed that, prior to the inauguration of the National Campaign for Immunization Against Measles, Rubella and Mumps, had concluded a number of contracts with a view to ensure the availability of a quantity of vaccines sufficient for covering all the targeted groups of the campaign's first two phases, with a total number of 7.260.000 doses of Triple Viral Vaccine (scientifically known as MMR), distributed to all Health Affairs directorates. The first batch of the vaccine (about 3.592.650 doses) has been disseminated to all the Health Affairs directorates in the Kingdom's provinces and regions, he continued, and the remaining quantities is yet to be disseminated in accordance with the campaign's timetable.
It is worth mentioning that the MOH has launched the National Campaign for Immunization against Measles, Rubella and Mumps in compliance with the international commitment to eradicating Measles in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO, which the Kingdom is part of, by the year 2015. The campaign was launched on 19 Shawwal, 1432 H, and the awareness campaign was further intensified during its first week, whereas the vaccination process was put into operation as of last week.