The Sabah Health Department (JKNS) would expand its polio vaccination campaign to all districts in Sabah especially among those at risk. File Photo
TUARAN: Children aged five and under in Sabah will be given oral polio vaccine in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus which was discovered in the state recently, said state Health and People’s Well-being Minister Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung.
He said the polio vaccination drive would be carried out in stages to keep Sabah free of polio.
To achieve this, he said, the Sabah Health Department (JKNS) would expand its polio vaccination campaign to all districts in Sabah especially among those at risk.
“The main objective of the campaign is to get all children under the age of five to be given oral polio vaccination and to prevent the occurrence of polio infection in Sabah,” he said.
He said this at the launch of the 2019/2020 Polio Immunisation Campaign at Taman Telipok Ria hall, here yesterday.
The campaign which commenced yesterday has provided polio vaccination to more than 1,000 children in the area.
Meanwhile, JKNS director Datuk Christina Rundi said her department had set a target to get every child in Sabah received two doses of polio vaccine by June next year.
One of the parents, Darna Amir, 33, said she turned up yesterday to obtain additional immunisation for her 11-month-old baby.
Another parent, Norina Masidin, 32, was grateful that JKNS showed a deep concern over the health of the people in the area.
She also admonished those who were against vaccination among children by describing them being lack of knowledge and exposure on polio which has no cure.
Dr Christina Rundi said no polio virus has been detected in Sandakan, said , denying the hoax widely circulated in social media since Thursday.
Many people in Sandakan kept posting on their Facebook, demanding that the government make an official statement regarding the viral issue.
“You don’t believe all these things, kalau ada apa-apa we will make a press statement,” she said when asked about the issue after the launching of a mass polio immunisation
Earlier this month, the Health Ministry announced that a three-month-old male infant from Tuaran was confirmed to have contracted polio, 27 years since the disease was eradicated from the country.