No child should be turned away from any health facility without being assisted. Every day is an immunisation day in the City of Ekurhuleni and every child must be vaccinated according to the immunisation schedule.
Brackenhurst Clinic head sister Sibongile Fatyela gives Thandaza Silimela (6) a tetanus and diphtheria vaccination.
“It is important to get your little ones protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, and the first step towards ensuring that is through vaccination. It doesn’t matter whether you lost the road to health card or missed the scheduled date, ultimately a child must be immunised,” said sister Tembi Mahlangu from Brackenhurst Clinic in Alberton.
Sister Tembi further indicated that children need all the required vaccinations at the right time during their developmental stages. Skipping a stage poses a threat to a child’s development, making them prone to vaccine-preventable diseases.
Vaccines stimulate the body’s immune system, which helps to prevent and protect children from serious illnesses, such as polio, hepatitis, measles, meningitis, diphtheria, pneumonia and other life-threatening illnesses that affect children as they grow.
Another important factor raised by health practitioners is that parents of schoolgoing children tend to forget that their children need to be immunised when they are six and 12 years old for the compulsory TD (tetanus and diphtheria) vaccination.
The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination received by Grade Eight schoolchildren helps to prevent cervical cancer in girls and reduces the risk of contracting viral infections, such as genital warts that affect both girls and boys in lower body areas, and it reduces the risk of anal cancer. The vaccine is given by school health nurses.
Parents and guardians may visit Ekurhuleni health facilities between Monday and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.
The City also offers extended operating hours in selected health facilities to accommodate parents who cannot make it during weekdays. Kempton Park Clinic, at the civic centre, also offers services from 8 am to 2 pm on Saturdays.
No child should be turned away from any health facility without being assisted. Should parents or guardians experience any challenge related to immunisation at any of the health facilities, they should contact sister Motshidisi Moleleki on 011 999 2126.
Article by: Kempton Express
https://kemptonexpress.co.za/211569/every-day-is-vaccination-day/
