By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Parents and caregivers in Kano State and other parts of the country have been advised to ensure their children under one year are fully vaccinated with pentavalent vaccines and other childhood vaccines.
The National Primary HealthCare Development Agency (NPHCDA) noted that the childhood vaccines are bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), Rota virus vaccine, polio vaccine, inactivated polio vaccines (IPV), measles vaccine, yellow fever vaccine and meningitis vaccine.
Dr Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of the agency explained that the recent diphtheria outbreak in Kano and other states was a serious concern that requires urgent attention to control the situation
He assured that diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, saying that the best protection against the disease is keeping up to date with recommended vaccines.
According to Dr Shuaib, poor immunisation performance in the affected areas in Kano State was a clear indicator of the outbreak of the disease.
To improve the routine immunisation performance in the state, he stated that the agency was collaborating with Kano State and the affected local government areas, as well as all other stakeholders involved in immunisation service delivery.
