Health officials in Congo are preparing for a major yellow fever vaccination campaign later this month in hopes of halting the spread of the disease before it creeps into the capital, a possibility that has sparked fears of a much wider epidemic.
To stretch limited global supplies of the vaccine, officials in the capital, Kinshasa, plan to use a smaller dose than normal, a proposal that has been endorsed by both the World Health Organization and Congo’s health ministry.
But a WHO official told STAT that authorities have considerable work to do before they can set a formal date for the vaccination campaign: securing enough special syringes to deliver a far smaller dose of vaccine, training health workers, and finalizing a public education program.
Read Full Article »