Awka – Caregivers in Anambra State have been advised to avail their children the opportunity to get administered with the Second Dose of the Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) to give them additional protection against polio.
The IPV2 is an injectable form of vaccine, a second dose of IPV which was recently introduced into the Nigerian Immunization Schedule.
Oral Polio vaccination, OPV for children was initially done once at 14 weeks but with the new introduction, IPV will now be done twice, first at 6 weeks and the second dose at 14 weeks.
The IPV2 was introduced to address the shortcomings of the Oral Polio Vaccines (OPV) which was in use before and will now be taken by children between six weeks to 23 months.
As part of efforts to garner stakeholders’ support towards engendering better acceptance of the vaccine in the state, a forum to mark the introduction of the IPV2 in Anambra State held in Awka recently.
Among stakeholders at the meeting were community heads, religious leaders, the media, the Civil Society among other opinion leaders.
Some stakeholders at the meeting had earlier raised concerns as to why the new introduction when Nigeria has been certified polio-free.
According to them, it would appear suspicious that at a time when Nigeria has been certified polio-free, a new vaccine is being introduced, querying why.
The Director, Disease Control and Immunizations, Anambra Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nnamdi Uliagbafusi explained that the new introduction was based on research conducted on the OPV with a view to improving the efficacy of the polio vaccine.
“What we are have today is based on the research that was conducted and to address some shortfalls with the OPV. We observed that the OPV is not 100 percent effective, so we want to use this vaccine to correct such,” he said.
Uliagbafusi noted that the vaccine is safe for use by the children, harping on the need for the public to disabuse their minds from any stereotype that might negate the effective administration of the vaccines for the safety of the children.
A state monitor from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA, Abuja office, Mrs Grace Sampson explained that the IPV2 became imperative to sustain the progress Nigeria had made as a polio-free country.
“Yes, we may have been certified polio-free as a country but we also know that on a daily basis, new ones are given birth to. There is also the challenge of filthy environment which is a major contributor to the spread of the virus. There is equally the truth that we have cases of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Virus, which we are studying presently to know caused them. So, we want to use this IPV2 to correct those anomaly,” she explained.
At the end of the meeting, some of the stakeholders who spoke with correspondent said they were convinced the vaccine is for the good of their people and will support its administration in the state.
The State Director of National Orientation Agency, Mr Charles Nworji said the agency will play its role, particularly in getting the citizenry know what the process is all about.
“We are going to prime our Community Mobilization Officers (COMOs) to include this in their community development programmes, to let people know that the introduction of the IPV2 does not mean that there is a resurgence of the polio virus, but just a way of fortifying the gains already achieved. And it should be gladdening to the people that the vaccine was introduced,” he said.
Others including the traditional Ruler of Ukwala in Anambra West, Igwe Joseph Ajodo and the Assistant Southeast Zonal Coordinator, Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, Hajiya Hadijat Obahan also expressed their willingness to use their contacts to spread the message to ensure that the people accept the vaccine.
