Oyo records polio case, set to vaccinate 2.5 million children

Oyo State aims to target 2.5 million children from birth to 59 months for polio vaccination, reinforcing the immunisation status of children across the state and ensuring no child misses out on life-saving vaccinations.

Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, disclosed this at a sensitisation meeting for State Social Mobilisation Committee members and other relevant stakeholders on the June National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPD) across the state.

Dr Olatunji said polio is a vaccine-preventable disease, and the NIPD is designed to reinforce the immunisation status of children in the state while supporting Nigeria’s maintenance of its polio-free status.

According to him, a vaccine-derived polio case was reported in Ogbomoso in a child who came in from Sokoto State.

“That Oyo State has a robust disease surveillance system in place and is actively working to ensure that the society is free of polio or circulating vaccine-derived polio is commendable and an indication that a case was detected in Oyo State.”

Dr Olatunji said the NIPD aims to reinforce the immunisation status of children in the state while helping Nigeria maintain its polio-free status. He thanked members of the Social Mobilisation Committee and other pertinent stakeholders for their support in encouraging vaccination uptake in the state.

“You don’t say because you have been declared polio-free, you back off from vaccination exercises. From time to time, we try to strengthen our process, and more importantly, to increase our surveillance activities.

“This campaign for polio vaccination is to make sure we catch children who missed out on the routine immunisation. We are not doing it only for polio; it is integrated—so all the vaccines are being utilised in this campaign. It’s only for polio that we use house-to-house campaign methodology in giving it to people.”

WHO Oyo State Coordinator, Dr Philip Zorto, said Nigeria has been given until 2025 by the global polio oversight body to stop the circulation of vaccine-derived polio, and it is important that no child is left behind in vaccination and other health interventions.

According to Dr Zorto, resources have been raised for the June NIPD to ensure that all eligible children under the age of five receive these vaccinations, which will help strengthen and safeguard them.

He called for greater cooperation from community leaders, religious leaders, and opinion leaders to guarantee that all children are released to receive vaccinations, especially in places where there is resistance to the vaccine, so the vaccination team can reach all eligible children during their visit.

“It is an opportunity to ensure that our children don’t die; it is an opportunity to ensure that our children don’t get paralysed. Some of these vaccine-preventable diseases can lead to blindness, deafness, and some cancers,” he added.

Earlier, Mr Olaoye Olarinde, the Health Educator for Oyo State, said if a child has polio, it puts at least 200 other children at risk of getting the disease because the virus spreads easily throughout the community. He urged all stakeholders to ensure that no child is denied access to life-saving vaccinations.

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