Bishkek, Oct 22, 2024. /Kabar/. Kyrgyzstan will conduct a catch-up immunization against measles and rubella from October 21 to November 4, Deputy Minister of Health of the country Bubuzhan Arykbaeva told reporters at Kabar Agency.
She noted that within the framework of the campaign, vaccination is primarily aimed at unvaccinated children aged 9 months to 7 years inclusive. The vaccine will also be used for contacts with confirmed cases of measles.
Arykbaeva noted that within the framework of the country's application, the country received 526 thousand doses of the measles and rubella vaccine, as part of humanitarian aid from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) for the implementation of an ongoing campaign to contain the measles outbreak. The vaccines were delivered with the assistance of UNICEF.
"Since last year, a two-stage immunization campaign has been carried out in the republic in response to the measles outbreak. As part of this campaign, 818,939 children aged 9 months to 7 years were vaccinated, which is 84.6% of the target group. Thanks to the measures taken, the incidence of measles in the republic is steadily declining. In order to maintain the positive trend and create sustainable collective immunity, as well as protect high-risk groups from measles infection, a mopping-up immunization will be carried out throughout the republic from October 21 to November 4, 2024," she said.