The director of the Expanded Program on Immunization in Abyei Special Administrative Area assured the parents and public that the polio dose has no side effects.
Mr. Youssif Lal Ayom said some mothers refused to have their children vaccinated, noting that they managed to convince them, and their children got the vaccine. He reiterated his assurance that the polio vaccine is safe.
Some mothers had refused for their children to be vaccinated citing that the vaccine causes negative side effects on minors. Abuk Chan told Abyei FM on Wednesday that she rejected the polio vaccine for her child because it causes fever and diarrhea, noting that she never immunized her children since she gave birth to her firstborn child.
Meanwhile, a Nuer community representative in the Amiet market, Simon Gathoth said he convinced his people to allow children to take the polio vaccine to protect them from sickness. Simon noted that some families rejected vaccination but after consultations, they accepted the immunization.
Polio is caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis. There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented with safe and effective vaccination.
The polio vaccination four-day campaign was launched on Monday 4th March in Abyei and across the country. In Abyei over 2000 are vaccinated. Last month, two cases of polio infection were recorded north of Abyei.
