CLOSE to 100,000 people around the country have been vaccinated with the measles vaccine in phase one of the campaign.
The Ministry of Health Medical Services has confirmed this in a paid advertisement today, also noting that more than 18,000 people were from the measles outbreak area of Serua/Namosi alone.
The ministry has been conducting an immunisation campaign since the measles outbreak was declared in Fiji on November 7, 2019 – targeting people who may not be fully immunised and are most at risk of the infection.
The ministry states that the second phase of the immunisation campaign will begin next week.
Across Fiji, the campaign will target people in the groups below:
- Any child in Fiji who has not received 2 doses of a measles vaccine
- Any child in Fiji aged 12 and 18 months and are due for their routine measles immunisation
- Any person in Fiji travelling overseas, however evidence of travel must be provided i.e. travel itinerary or ticket
- All health care workers in Fiji
- All airport and hotel staff
In the Central Division only, the campaign will target:
- All children aged 6 months to 5 years
- All people born between 1980 and 2000 (19 to 39-year-olds).
- All residents of Serua/Namosi aged 6 months and older.
The ministry states the Central Division is prioritised for this phase of the campaign because all confirmed cases to date are in this division, and the focus remains on containing the current outbreak.
The other divisions will be targeted once more vaccine supplies are received.
Measles is very contagious and to help stop the spread of the disease, the ministry has advised Fijians to take the following precautions:
- Avoid non-essential travel to Serua/Namosi. If you need to travel to Serua/Namosi, please get vaccinated against measles at least two weeks before travel. Please avoid taking those that cannot get vaccinated (e.g. babies under the age of 6 months and pregnant women) to the outbreak area of Serua/Namosi;
- Avoid holding or attending large gatherings of people, especially in Central Division, but also those that bring participants from across the country or overseas (such as youth camps, religious gatherings, graduation ceremonies, sporting events, etc). Measles can spread very easily among large groups of people if they are not immune, who can then take the disease back into their communities; and
- If you are holding an event with international visitors or participants from an outbreak area, please strongly encourage them to get vaccinated against measles at least two (2) weeks before travel. This especially applies to visitors traveling from other countries with measles outbreaks i.e. New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga.
