Health ministry convenes crisis meeting amid Polio jab concerns

 

The Ministry of Health has called a meeting of top experts to address the widespread concerns surrounding the recent polio vaccination campaign.

The National Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee made up of experts from various fields, will begin its sessions next week in response to growing public concerns over reported adverse side effects from the nationwide polio vaccination drive.

Prof Omu Anzala of the KAVI Institute of Clinical Research and a member of the committee said the team will conduct a thorough causality assessment. Their goal, he said, will be to determine whether the side effects cited by sections of the public are directly linked to the vaccine.

“This is a rigorous exercise that will investigate some of the concerns we’ve seen in the public domain. It’s an elaborate process, and we urge the public to remain calm, there is no cause for alarm,” said Prof Anzala, also a researcher in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nairobi.

The Standard spoke to several mothers across the country, who expressed concerns that the vaccine may have caused adverse reactions in their children. Symptoms such as rashes, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, persistent coughs, and the appearance of lumps were among the side effects reported.

Online content creator ‘Just Margie’ shared her experience with her son’s vaccination. She said she received overwhelming responses from mothers whose children were recently vaccinated.

“I shared my son’s experience, and all of a sudden, there was an outpouring of stories on my timeline, mothers sharing all sorts of experiences. I noticed a pattern, and it was clear something wasn’t right,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kenya is preparing to transition from the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), which is administered via injection.