Campaign against rubella in Beni managed to immunize 110,568 people

Vaccination against rubella reached 110,568 people throughout the department beni, where 300 brigades were deployed between August 10 and September 15. The number of immunized almost doubles the objective that had been set at the beginning of the campaign, informed the director of the Departmental Health Service (Headquarters) of this region, Luis Suárez Velarde.

“The campaign has prevented the spread of an infection It mainly affects children and young adults. If a pregnant woman contracts rubella, she can suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth, and her unborn babies can be born with birth defects that will have life-long consequences”, highlighted Rafael Ramírez, UNICEF representative in Bolivia, which is the institution that cooperated with resources and supplies to guarantee the operation.

Last July 29the Ministry of Health and Headquarters officially reported that after 16 years a case of rubella was confirmed in the city of Trinidad. A 32-year-old mother lost her unborn baby due to this virus and alerts were raised. Once the reappearance of rubella was confirmed, the tasks of investigation, blockade and epidemiological surveillance began immediately.

The Ministry of Health, through the Expanded Program on Immunization (PAI), and Sedes-Beni Vaccination began on August 10 against rubella and congenital rubella syndrome. About 600 people were part of the brigades and 265 health centers were set up so that the population can go to get vaccinated.

At the start of the campaign, PAI and Sedes had the goal of vaccinating 65,174 people in the department. That goal was almost doubled, immunizing 110,568 citizens.

The governor of Beni, Alejandro Unzueta, highlighted the joint work that was carried out to duplicate the goal that was set. “When you see results It is the union of the work of all levels”, highlighted Unzueta.

For his part, the national head of the EPI, Max Enríquez, expressed his satisfaction with the number of people who were immunized with the vaccine and gave the example of Beni as a sign that vaccination campaigns can be carried out successfully in other regions.

Unicef-Bolivia was part of this campaign supporting public institutions with actions of information, communication and social mobilization. Within the framework of the cooperation, a workshop for journalists on immunization and rubella was developed; the production of informative and awareness-raising videos for dissemination in the media and social networks; and the training, supervision and mobilization of the brigades.

Also, Unicef ​​delivered supplies worth Bs 1,505,310 to strengthen the cold chain of vaccines. This support consists of 12 vaccine refrigeration and storage equipment, 120 immunizer transport boxes and 200 vaccine-carrying flasks.