The Eastern Cape health department has begun a mass vaccination campaign against the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
The Eastern Cape health department has begun a mass vaccination campaign against the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
The first phase of the campaign, which started last week, will target front-line healthcare workers and clinicians who work in casualty and intensive care units and emergency medical services, as well as children under the age of 15 who have HIV and Aids.
Health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the campaign was timed to anticipate the winter flu season and would also serve as a precautionary measure ahead of the Fifa World Cup which would bring thousands of foreign visitors, some of whom might carry the virus.
He said the province had received about 20 000 doses of the vaccine and had already started administering it.
Kupelo said the vaccine, available at public health institutions and ARV clinics, would be effective against both the H1N1 and seasonal influenza viruses.
The second phase, which was scheduled to begin early in May depending on availability of the vaccination, would target the remainder of healthcare workers in the province, pregnant women, people with chest and heart problems, and people over the age of 15 who were on antiretroviral drugs, along with any other people who were considered to be at risk.
The campaign forms part of the Department of Health’s 2010 mass immunisation campaign which is aimed at providing vaccinations for polio, measles and the H1N1 virus throughout South Africa.
