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Vaccination: Private hospitals
have to fulfil ministry criteria

DUBAI — Private healthcare facilities will be allowed to offer compulsory vaccinations for children and adults only if they fulfil the Health Ministry’s criteria, according to senior health officials.

The new policy that came into effect in January will allow private healthcare establishments to provide vaccinations only if they have proper storage facilities, ensure vaccination follow-ups, and implement adequate safety guidelines.

The facilities that join the ministry’s system will also be required to submit the record of an individual’s immunisation history through the recently set-up electronic immunisation system.

“Establishments that fail to submit electronic statistics will be putting their licences at risk,” warned Dr Ibrahim Alqadi, Director of Central Preventive Medicine at the ministry. Similar warnings were also issued by the Dubai Health Authority earlier this month.

However, though vaccines are currently given free of cost at the ministry’s health centres, private facilities are currently allowed to fix charges based on their costs with some of them charging anywhere between Dh400 and Dh600.

“The patient can choose,” said Dr Emad Abdul Karim, Consultant, Community Medicine and Vaccinology at the ministry.

Officials said such electronic records were necessary for formulating future policies and for setting up of the national registry.

Currently, six vaccines that are part of the National Immunisation Programme are administered to children from birth up to 13 years.

Travel vaccines and vaccinations for risk groups such as for Hepatitis patients are also administered by the ministry.

“We still need to spread the word on the safety of vaccines,” said Dr Alqadi. He also said that any adverse reaction of the vaccine on an individual would also be recorded electronically for future reference.

According to 2010 statistics, the department screened 319,171 expatriates in Dubai and the Northern Emirates during medical fitness tests, of which 3,392 people were found to be unfit to stay in the UAE.

In 2009, 9,237 people from different nationalities were found to be suffering from diseases such as AIDS, Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis and Leprosy.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com