By Esnart Chingwalu

Ministry of Health says it will not administer the third phase of polio vaccine in the dates that it earlier announced.

According spokesperson for the ministry Adrian Chikumbe this is due to the advice it has got from World Health Organisation (WHO) for the country to coordinate on the period of administering the vaccine with other countries that are also administering the vaccine.

Chikumbe said the ministry is ready to start administering the vaccine however is to abide to the WHO advice.

“Despite us being ready for the exercise, we are going to get a delay a little due to the advice from WHO that we are supposed to move together with our neighboring countries like Tanzania and Mozambique who are also administering the same vaccines  in response to the case that was found in the country,” Chikumbe said.

“Our neighboring countries were not really ready with the vaccines so the WHO has emphasized that we must coordinate in this outbreak so that we manage it in a standard way which has led to this delay in the country.”

Chikumbe urged all parents and guardians to be on alert saying the ministry will not take long to announce the new dates for the vaccines in the country.

He said the delay will not have an effect on the children that already got the vaccine in the first two rounds.

“I must assure and remind all parents and guardians that each child is supposed to receive four doses of polio vaccine for the total protection of a child from the disease,” Chikumbe said.

Earlier the ministry announced to administer the third vaccine which has also been delayed for two months now, from July 8 to 11, 2022 however it has also revealed to YFM that the ministry will announce new dates later.