MOT: We have a stockpile of vaccines sufficient until 2023

Baghdad-INA 

The Ministry of Health confirmed, today, Thursday, that it possesses a stockpile of vaccines sufficient for the country until the middle of next year, and while it set its priorities in this regard, it revealed the number of children covered by the routine vaccination program.

The head of the immunization department at the Ministry of Health, Firas Al-Moussawi, said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the number of children covered by basic vaccinations is 1,250,000 children under one year of age, and they are the most vulnerable group to infection with viral and bacterial diseases.".

He added, "The ministry's priority is to immunize these people from epidemic diseases, and the Minister of Health attaches the utmost importance to this issue."
He continued, "As for children under five years of age, more than 5,000,000 children have received the vaccine, and they are all targeted through the routine vaccination programme.".

He pointed out that "the ministry is facing financial difficulties in providing vaccines due to the lack of a budget. Despite that, the vaccines, which are currently available and which may reach us, can cover the country until June of next year."
Last March, the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with UNICEF, launched a campaign to expand coverage of routine immunization services, with the participation of more than 1,300 mobile awareness teams throughout Iraq.

The routine vaccination program includes giving children vaccinations against measles, polio, hepatitis, smallpox and other diseases.