Ethiopia vaccinates over 650,000 people against yellow fever

Addis Ababa, January 13, 2021 (FBC) – Ethiopia vaccinated more than 650,000 people as part of a reactive yellow fever vaccination campaign, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

“A yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting 700,000 people in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) and Oromia regions was conducted in November 2020,” the WHO said in a statement.

After reporting the first case in March 2020, WHO surveillance officers and regional health bureau teams strengthened surveillance, including active case search, it noted.

“A total of 86 cases and four deaths were reported in this outbreak,” the WHO said, adding its teams have worked with regional health authorities, including those in Enor-Ener Woreda in Gurage Zone of the SNNPR, to coordinate the response.

According to the WHO, the first reactive campaign was conducted in 17 sub-districts of Enor-Ener in March 2020 when the outbreak occurred, which brought the outbreak quickly under control.

“As we all work together to respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic, WHO works with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and regional health bureaus to support continuation of essential health services like immunization and strengthen response to other health emergencies such as this yellow fever outbreak,” WHO Representative Boureima Hama Sambo was quoted as saying in the statement.

“We must address all health issues and emergencies to protect the health of the Ethiopian people,” Sambo added.

Source: Xinhua