MOH to carry out large-scale measles vaccination
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The Ministry of Health (MOH) said Friday it will carry out a measles vaccination plan for nearly 100 million children across China this month.
Hao Yang, deputy director of the the disease control bureau of the MOH, made the statement at a press conference, noting the move aims to strengthen the effects of vaccination.
Hao said the nationwide vaccination, scheduled for Sept. 11 to Sept. 20, mainly targets children in the age bracket from eight months to 14 years. It will provide children who have missed or failed previous vaccinations with another chance to be successfully vaccinated.
He reassured the public that the ministry has taken strict measures to ensure the quality and safety of the vaccines, noting the vaccines are domestically-made and have been used for many years.
According to the official, in 2008, China reported 131,000 measles cases, accounting for 46 percent of the world's total. In 2009, 52,000 cases were reported, down 60.1 year on year. In the first six months of 2010, the number of cases was down 25.1 percent compared with the same period of last year, due to "regular vaccination."
Health departments aim to immunize as many as 95 percent of the target children.
