Ministry of Health and Sports has started the additional program for vaccination against polio and measles-rubella in 96 townships across the country.

The program will take place from October 25 to 29. Under the program, every children ranging from infants to children aged 5.5 years will get polio vaccine while the children aged nine months to 5.5 years will get measles-rubella vaccine. The program covers the remote areas which have no easy access to vaccination.

Dr. Ye Lin Naing, the team leader of Extended Vaccination and Infectious Disease Control Program under the Yangon Region Public Health Department said: “The department has released the list of 96 townships for vaccination program. I would like to urge the public to get their children vaccinated at the vaccination centers in relevant wards and villages. From November 26 to 28, the department plan to give measles-rubella vaccine alone in the remaining over 230 townships.”

In 2015, the department implemented the collective measles-rubella vaccination programs for nationwide. Due to the measles epidemic in some townships of Yangon in 2018, the department implemented the additional vaccine program at the health clinics from February 17 to 28.

The ministry has stepped up its plan to systemically monitor the scattered transmission of diseases which can be preventable by vaccine.

Before the implementation of nationwide measles vaccination program in December, the ministry implements the additional vaccination program in order to control the spreads of measles in the townships where measles are mostly reported.

In 2011 and 2012, there were measles cases. In 2013, 15 measles cases among youths aged  18 and 20 were reported. More cases and mortality were reported in border regions where there was no full coverage of vaccination program, according to the Public Health Department.

Myanmar has set a goal of eliminating measles and controlling the symptoms of congenital rubella syndrome by 2020.