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July 10, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Zimbabwe: National Measles Jab Drive Extended"
Africa News Service (www.allafrica.com) (07/09/02)
Another day has been added to Zimbabwe's $200 million measles
immunization and vitamin A supplementation program, so health
officials can be assured that every child under the age of five
is reached. In interviews, parents gave a variety of reasons for
not bringing their children in for vaccination, including rumors
of syringe shortages and claims of ignorance about the
immunization campaign, despite local media ads. Since the last
national measles vaccination campaign in 1998, when 93 percent of
children were reached, confirmed measles cases dropped from over
2,000 in 1998 to seven in 2001 and 111 cases this year, with no
deaths. The current effort is targeting 1.8 million children in
Zimbabwe and aims to protect against an anticipated measles
outbreak next summer.
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