The Lagos State government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], is set to vaccinate 21 million persons against measles, yellow fever, and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), among other infections.
Immunisation Programme Coordinator for the Lagos State Public Health Board, Dr Adetona Akinpelu, who made the disclosure at a two-day media dialogue with the theme “Achieving the Health Sector SDGs for over Two Million Children at Risk of Death in Nigeria,” said that the exercise to begin on October 19, is aimed at bridging the gaps in immunity in the state caused by gaps in the vaccination schedule in the past few years.
Dr Akinpelu said that the 2-week-long massive immunisation campaign, involving 63,981 personnel, is for individuals aged nine months and 44 years and is aimed at combating rising cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in the Lagos state.
“We need to bridge the immunity gap in the past two to three years, including the lockdown time when we had the COVID-19 pandemic. It created gaps in vaccinations. And we have started seeing the ripple effects because we’ve had quite a number of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the state.
“So the target of this campaign is basically for us to vaccinate the citizens against measles, against yellow fever, and also to ensure that our girls yet to get their HPV vaccine also use that as an opportunity to get the vaccinations.
“For the measles vaccine, we’re looking at children from the ages of 9 to 59 months, and this is a unique opportunity for those that have not gotten the first dose of the vaccine to get it, for those that have not gotten a second dose, which is the booster dose, to also get it, and also for the state to achieve herd immunity.
“For yellow fever, the target age range is actually from nine months to 44 years. And if you look at that, that gives us about 80% of the state’s population, amounting to about 21 million. That is our target for eligible persons to be vaccinated.”
The expert declared also that the HPV vaccine is the first line of defence in combating cervical cancer, a deadly disease, and therefore urged parents to ensure their daughters, aged 9 and above, receive the vaccine.
“This is a unique opportunity for Lagos and Nigeria as a whole to benefit from the HPV vaccine, which has proven effective in reducing cervical cancer incidence in countries where it is routinely administered,” Akinpelu added.
Dr Akinpelu urged individuals to get vaccinated, saying vaccination is the first step of disease prevention and it ensures a reduction in the burden of disease on the healthcare system and parents.
“As a state, one of the easiest ways for you to achieve your metrics when we look at health care is disease prevention, and if we look at the whole totality of how you prevent diseases, the first step is vaccination before other lifestyle changes.
“Ideally, our target as a state is to make sure that every child is vaccinated. Once we can get that target, it means that there’s a ripple effect. There’s going to be a lesser burden on the healthcare system. There’s going to be a lesser burden financially on the parents. So it’s a win-win for the state.”
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