The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has launched its annual vaccination campaign, targeting Year 10 students to protect them against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough.
This initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Primary Health Care Corp (PHCC).
The school-based vaccination campaign is a recognised strategy by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to protect individuals from these diseases.
The WHO recommends a booster dose of the Tdap (Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis/whooping cough) vaccine every 10 years to maintain immunity.
The MoPH and its partners have initiated campaign activities in government, private, and community schools.
Notifications have been distributed to parents to obtain their consent for their children to receive the vaccine.
As part of the initiative, the MoPH organised an awareness workshop on January 15, with participation from a large number of medical and nursing staff from the ministry, PHCC, as well as nurses from government, private, and community schools across Qatar.
The workshop aimed to raise awareness among medical and nursing staff working in schools on the importance of the Tdap vaccine in combating tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough.
During the session, participants were updated on the latest scientific and practical developments regarding the vaccine and briefed on the administrative arrangements to ensure the campaigns success and the achievement of its objectives.
Director of the Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department at the MoPH, Dr Hamad Eid al-Romaihi, said: “The ministry implements the annual school vaccination campaign against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough to prevent these diseases, strengthen students’ immunity, and provide a safe and healthy educational environment free from diseases and epidemics.”