Parents are taking advantage of the Saturday child health clinics being offered at polyclinics to increase local immunisation coverage of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.
They showed up with their children and “green books” in hand last Saturday, at the Randal Philips Polyclinic, St. Philip Polyclinic, and Eden Lodge Primary School (Eunice Gibson Polyclinic), to ensure that their little ones were up to date with their vaccines.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has announced that child health clinics will operate every Saturday in the month of March from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This gives parents and guardians the opportunity to have their children immunised outside of the regular clinic hours.
Health officials are aiming to increase vaccine coverage to 95 per cent or above and are stepping up surveillance systems to swiftly identify and respond to any potential threats. They recently reported that coverage for the Measles, Rubella and Mumps (MMR) vaccine is low.
In February, public health nurses visited nurseries, day care centres, and primary schools to identify defaulters who were given appointments to be updated with their vaccines. This practice will continue as necessary.
Additionally, they will target communities with low coverage rates from April, by offering vaccine services via the Ministry’s new mobile clinic. Nurses will also be consistently monitoring child health registers.
The clinics for Saturday, March 16, will operate at Maurice Byer Polyclinic, Station Hill, St. Peter, and Branford Taitt Polyclinic, Black Rock, St. Michael, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.