Residents in Kiambu have been assured of the safety of the polio vaccine that was given out in the recently concluded first phase of the immunisation drive being carried out across the country.
According to Susan Gatei, a health official at the Kiambu Hospital, residents have raised concerns over the quality of the polio jab.The Ministry of Health recently initiated a health campaign aimed at curbing the polio disease in the country. Health officials have been deployed to various counties where they move door to door administering the vaccine to children below the age of five years.While chairing a stakeholders meeting at the Kiambu Level 5 hospital on Monday, Mrs Gatei said different stakeholders should come out and assist the polio teams to reach out to all children aged five years and below.Gatei said the doses of the polio vaccine have been tested and proven to be safe thus residents should have nothing to worry about. “The vaccine provides additional protection and boosts the immunity of children without any harm,” she said.Gatei confirmed that the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine being administered by health officials around the country.“The future of this nation is the children and all of them should be cushioned against ailments that can interfere with their growth,” added Gatei.Kiambu hospital registered 18,246 of the expected 16,000 in the first phase of the vaccination whereas Githunguri sub-county recorded 19,127 lower than the target of 22,203.