On the eve of the school year, a national measles vaccination campaign for children who missed vaccination due to the war or other circumstances began.
Vaccination of children against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) continues in the Lviv region as part of the all-Ukrainian catch-up vaccination campaign. 28,560 doses of the combined vaccine were delivered to the Lviv region, of which 22,020 doses were for the catch-up campaign and 6,540 doses were for routine vaccination.
Measles is transmitted by airborne droplets and is an extremely contagious disease. Out of 10 unvaccinated people who came into contact with a sick person, 9 will get sick. There are no specific medicines against measles. The only protection against the disease is timely vaccination. For collective immunity, it is necessary that 95% of the population has immunity from this disease. And this can be achieved through vaccination.
According to the Calendar of preventive vaccinations, the first vaccination against measles is carried out at 12 months, and at 6 years – scheduled revaccination. These two doses of the vaccine protect the child against measles, mumps and rubella.
In 2022, only 69% of children aged 6 years received the mandatory vaccination against measles in Ukraine. In order to prevent a measles outbreak, these vaccinations must now be made up, and children must be vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine urges you to catch up on vaccinations as soon as possible if you missed a scheduled vaccination and to contact one of the 162 vaccination points in the Lviv region – the list and addresses of the points can be found at the link.
Where access to stationary vaccination points is difficult or impossible, mobile teams work. They also vaccinate children who cannot move independently due to health conditions and organized groups (educational institutions, children’s health camps, etc.).
To call a mobile vaccination team, you need to leave an application by calling the regional coordinator – (068) 706 51 30. The application will be registered, a schedule of mobile teams’ departures will be drawn up and the date and time of its arrival will be notified. Or call the hotline of the Ministry of Health at 0 800 60 20 19 and they will guide you to whom you can contact in your region.
We will remind you that 657 thousand doses of the combined vaccine were provided to Ukraine by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in support of the National Immunization Program.