The Director of the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) National Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), an Epidemiology Specialist and a Consultant in Community Medicine, Dr. Musallam Younus Abu Hassan, underlined the importance of vaccinating children on time; due to the fact that vaccination is absolutely necessary to strengthen and boost the bodies’ immune system to combat diseases and epidemics. He highlighted that we must focus on giving children the required vaccination and any delayed dosage must be rescheduled not cancelled, as long as the child's age allows him to take the vaccine. He also stated that it is necessary to vaccinate children during immunization campaigns, because they are national campaigns, calling for covering all targeted groups. Regarding the vaccination for children during the first and half a year of their life, he pointed out that it is a complementary and energetic vaccination, except chickenpox vaccination which is taken for once.
“Immunization protects against targeted diseases, by means of taking the appropriate vaccines against these diseases,” said Abu Hassan, adding: “There is no doubt that the World Health Organization (WHO) plays an important role in raising awareness on the importance of immunization throughout the world and that it works to provide vaccines for the poor countries and encourages all countries to improve all levels of immunization.”
This came while hosting Dr. Abu Hassan at the program: “Hello, Healthy Ramadan”, which is organized annually during the holy month of Ramadan by the MOH’s National Center for Information and Health Promotion, via the toll free number 8002494444. Regarding the important vaccines, he underscored the importance of taking the hepatitis vaccine by adults born before 1990, especially for some cases that are more prone to this disease such as those people who are in close contact with patients with hepatitis B or health workers; because they are more prone to this disease. Besides, he underlined the importance of prevention, maintaining public hygiene and not sharing or using others' tools. Confirming the availability of all vaccines, he added that the flu vaccine is very effective and is taken for prevention, and any infection after getting the vaccine will be mild, Allah willing.
At the end of his speech, Abu Hassan highlighted the MOH's effective role in monitoring and controlling the communicable diseases, as well as taking the preventive measures to control them. He also indicated that the health education plays a vital role in the disease prevention and is considered the first line of defense against these diseases.