People are not aware of the need for immunisation or if some of them are, they don’t know where to go for it. AFP/File
KARACHI: “We have to work in partnership and join hands to achieve results,” says Tasneem Fatima, Team Lead CHIP, Karachi. Fatima has been working with CHIP (Civil Society Human and Institutional Development Programme) since 2015. At present she is working to encourage and motivate parents to get their children immunised. Her target area is UC-2 in Baldia Town, district West Karachi.
“There are eight super risk union councils in Karachi and UC-2 Baldia (Ittehad Town) is one of them,” she says. “People belonging to various communities live there but most are Pakhtuns. There are multiple problems, such as lack of awareness, illiteracy, and poverty, due to which immunisation rate is very low,” says Fatima.
Speaking during World Immunization Week, Fore also said it was a race to save lives through vaccinations, particularly in some of the world s poorest countries with very fragile health systems.
India is in the midst of a deadly second wave of the virus. On Saturday, daily coronavirus cases in the country passed 400,000 for first time; total cases in India have now topped 19 million, and more than 215,000 people have died from Covid in the country. It is worrying for several reasons. One, is it a precursor to what might happen in other countries, particularly countries in Africa, with much weaker healthcare systems? Fore said last week.
RhoVac brought to the attention of the European Innovation Council during World Immunization Week
STOCKHOLM, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/
RhoVac AB ( RhoVac ) was recognized by the European Innovation Council (EIC) during the annual World Immunization Week conference which took place last week. The theme for this year s conference was Vaccines bring us closer to celebrate the contribution of routine vaccination to health, and highlight the importance of vaccines for the ability to stop the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. RhoVac was highlighted (see article below) as one of the exclusive group of EU-funded companies that develop immunotherapy beyond the conventional ways of thinking.
Rich countries have a moral duty to share their Covid-19 vaccines with India and others
Using vaccines in places where they are needed the most can help the entire world by preventing the spread and emergence of new variants. A vast majority of people are still not protected against Covid-19. | Arun Sankar / AFP
Usually, World Immunisation Week is a chance for those of us who research vaccines to reinforce the message about their importance in saving lives. From whooping cough to polio, measles to meningitis, vaccines have quietly been saving millions of lives, every year, for decades.
Usually, nobody really cares or takes notice. However, 2021 is different. In this last year, we have heard a lot about public health science, from how diseases take root and are spread, to how new drug therapies – including vaccines – are developed, trialled and monitored for safety and impact after their rollout. People are aware that Covid-19 vaccines are saving lives –