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National Immunisation Plan to Tackle H1N1 Soon
SHARJAH — A national immunisation programme will be drawn up before the arrival of the first shipment of the Influenza A(H1N1) vaccine by the health authorities in the UAE.
Health officials said 500 health workers may be required to administer the vaccine taking into account that three to five minutes are required while administering a dose to a person, five days a week if they work for up to four hours. Individuals given the vaccine will be issued with an international certificate.
Over a million doses of Glaxo Smith Kline’s Pandemrix, also known as D-Pan vaccine, will reach the UAE in monthly shipments before the end of the year, said health officials during a national seminar on the Emerging Pandemic H1N1 – Guidance for Healthcare Workers and School Authorities held on Saturday.
D-Pan is manufactured in Germany and has already been licensed in the European Union (EU). The second vaccine being manufactured in Canada by GSK is Arepanrix (Q-Pan) and will be available in the UAE later. According to the company’s ongoing studies on the drug, two doses of the vaccine are required 21 days apart at present.
“Registration of D-Pan has been approved for use in EU and the process is underway at the UAE health ministry,” said Dr Aly Ziwar, Medical and Regulatory Director, GSK, Gulf and near East.
Officials refused to say when and exactly how much vaccine would be available in the country.
“Until we get physical hold of the vaccine, we cannot say when and how much will/or has arrived,” said Dr Emad Abdul Karim, Consultant, Community Medicine and Vaccinology at the ministry while referring to delays in delivery of vaccines worldwide.
The actual campaign to train and educate the healthcare workers, media and public will only start after the vaccine arrives, he added.
Introducing doctors and nurses to the programme through a presentation, Dr Karim said the immunisation will be done through fixed and mobile units at hospitals, primary healthcare centres, child health centres and, school health and preventive health departments in all emirates.
A nurse and a clerk will be trained to carry out the procedures at the fixed units while another nurse, clerk and a driver will form the mobile units that will also carry out vaccinations at schools and all entry ports.
Heads of all departments in all medical districts will be trained on safety, storage, adverse effects and appropriate waste disposal of the vaccine.
The ministry has also devised a strategy to keep track of all those vaccinated and garner accurate data after the campaign is over.
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