More than 19,000 children are being immunized in Las Tunas during the 64th Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccination Campaign, which is being carried out simultaneously throughout the country and will run until April 26.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Yahilín Nápoles Novella, head of the Vaccination Program at the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology, told 26 that the first dose of the polio vaccine is currently being administered to 13,179 children aged between 1 month and 2 years, 11 months, and 29 days.

She specified that this first phase will include a recovery week from April 28 to May 3 for children who were ill, so that no one is left unprotected.

The second vaccination phase will take place from June 16 to 21. Previously immunized children will receive the first booster dose. Nine-year-olds, of whom there are approximately 900 in the province, will also receive a single booster dose. The recovery week will be from June 23 to 28.

"To ensure the success of the process, training was guaranteed for all nursing staff involved in approximately 500 vaccination sites in the eight municipalities; emphasis was placed on health protocols and strict adherence to the cold chain preservation," the specialist stated.

Nápoles Novella warned families that the vaccine will not be administered to patients with fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. She clarified that they should wait 30 minutes for drinking water before and after vaccination. She explained that simultaneous immunizations do not interfere with any other in the national vaccination schedule.

Health Promotion and Education specialists in Las Tunas have held several hearings so far this year to raise the community's awareness about the importance of polio immunization and to ensure that medical prescriptions are followed in every home.