The international event, organised this year under the theme 'Vaccines bring us closer', aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against diseases, increase vaccination rates, and spread awareness of the importance of vaccinations and their influential role in eliminating communicable diseases.
The activities of World Immunisation Week seek to enhance the commitment of community members to vaccination schedules according to the National Vaccination Programme, disseminate scientific facts about the importance of vaccines for all community members to protect them from diseases and emphasise the safety of vaccines according to international best practices.
The Ministry harnesses all communication channels with the individuals to spread awareness-raising messages about vaccines, highlight vaccination services provided by health centres, and publish related scientific facts. This year's campaign also includes a webinar on 29th April for medical cadres on the latest information and global practices related to vaccines.
"Keeping people healthy and safe from contagious diseases is a national priority. Therefore, we've launched this outreach campaign to encourage people to visit primary health care centres and clinics to take the vaccines to maintain their health," said Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary of Health Centres and Clinics Sector, and Chairman of the National Committee for the Implementation of the Provisions of International Health Regulations and Prevention of Pandemics.
"This would help improve the results of the national index of vaccination rates of all community members to surpass 99% so that we can have a healthy society free from vaccination-preventable diseases. This also would help achieve the Ministry's strategy aimed at cementing preventive aspects, providing comprehensive health care in innovative and sustainable ways, and achieving the goals of the health track of the National Agenda 2021," he added.
Regarding the UAE's achievements in administering COVID-19 vaccines, Al Rand underlined that these successes reflect the commitment of the state's wise leadership to the health and wellbeing of people through the provision of the best healthcare practices, including free vaccinations for all target groups.
This occasion is becoming increasingly important with the UAE's production of the "Hayat-Vax" vaccine, the first of its kind in the region, an achievement which confirms that the UAE is moving steadily towards entering the recovery phase.
Dr. Nada Al Marzouqi, Director of Preventive Medicine Department, said that immunisation is one of the greatest success stories in global health, pointing out that the implementation of the immunisation programmes-related global goals and strategies, adopted by the World Health Organisation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has resulted in saving millions of lives every year from Vaccine-preventable diseases, such as hepatitis, measles, rubella, parotitis, polio, and chickenpox."
Al Marzouqi urged all community members to adhere to vaccination schedules of the National Vaccination Programme, school health vaccination programme, and adult, travellers, and seasonal flu vaccination programmes.
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