KENYA – The Ministry of Health is conducting an audit of the National Vaccine Immunization Program in order to identify the shortcomings of previous campaigns in the country and improve coverage.

Ms Hedwick Wasike, Bungoma County Officer in Charge of Immunization Services, stated that the 100-day program aims to track down children, adolescents, and women who failed to attend previous routine immunization exercises in 2019 and 2020.

The 100-day Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunization (PIRI) campaign, she says, is aimed at children aged five and under, adolescent girls aged 10 to 14, and pregnant women.

Bungoma, she said, has a huge backlog, which is currently less than 30%, and the 100-day RRI is an attempt to reach all unvaccinated people.

She stated that the campaign, which routinely targets 80%, is being carried out in 183 health facilities throughout the county in order to reach the unvaccinated through defaulter tracing and outreaches in schools and communities.

She stated that the Ministry of Health has made all vaccines available in all immunization facilities.

“Most parents after getting the first dose at nine months do not come back for the second dose which is given at 18 months,” she said.

She urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children receive all of their immunizations, including the second dose of measles and rubella, which is given at 18 months. She was speaking at a stakeholder and media sensitization meeting in a Bungoma.

Despite the Ministry’s efforts to reach at least 90% of children with lifesaving vaccines, she said, immunization coverage in all counties remained below 80%. She stated that in order to be safe, a county’s vaccination coverage must exceed 80%.

Wasike stated that a large number of children in Bungoma are unvaccinated and thus lack immunity against these vaccine-preventable diseases, with some children reaching the age of one year before receiving the first dose.

She claims that this causes low immunity, which has resulted in measles outbreaks in several counties.

Wasike stated that diseases such as measles, polio, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and pneumonia can be avoided with proper vaccinations and urged residents to come out in large numbers.

She stated that in Kenya, ten women die every day from cervix cancer, highlighting the importance of giving girls aged 10 to 14 the HPV vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer.

Wasike stated that the primary goal of the Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunization (PIRI) program is to reduce the county’s high number of unvaccinated children under the age of five. The 100-day campaign initiative will last until February 10th, 2022.

This is one of the key interventions that has also been harmed by the covid-19. Mothers who are afraid of contracting covid-19 do not bring their children to the hospital for immunization.

Pelita Barasa, the health messaging officer, stated that vaccines for children under the age of five include BCG for tuberculosis, Oral Polio vaccine (OPV) and Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) for poliomyelitis, Rotavirus for rotavirus diarrhea, DPT diphtheria, OCV 10, Rota, Measles Rubella, yellow fever, deworming, vitamin A, and treated mosquito nets.

She claims that the vaccines protect children from tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, pneumonia, and meningitis.

Other vaccines include HPV for 10-14-year-old girls to protect against cervical cancer and tetanus diphtheria for pregnant women.

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