Doha: The Ministry of Public Health announced the launch of the annual vaccination campaign against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (Tdap), starting from mid-March, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Primary Health Care Corporation. This year, the campaign aims to vaccinate grade ten and eleven students in private and public schools in the State of Qatar.
Director of Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Public Health Dr Hamad Eid Al-Rumaihi
Dr Hamad Eid Al-Rumaihi, Director of Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Public Health, said: The implementation of the annual vaccination campaign against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (Tdap) aims to enhance the immunity of male and female students, and the World Health Organization recommends that the vaccination against the three diseases should be taken every 10 years as a booster dose. He clarified that this does comes within the framework of the periodic vaccination for adolescents and within the National immunization schedule in the State of Qatar.
Dr Hamad Al-Rumaihi added that the State of Qatar does not suffer from the spread of tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough, which is attributed to the high vaccination coverage. However, he emphasized that attention should be paid to the seriousness of the three diseases targeted by the vaccine, which may cause severe complications including death or total disability to the person infected with any of them.
The campaign is implemented annually and targets grade ten students but was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and the whole world, so it was decided that the target group this year would include grade ten and eleven students.
The Ministry of Public Health calls on guardians and parents of students to urge their children to receive Tdap vaccination, as it has a profound impact on promoting their health and preventing diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, as it is part of the periodic vaccinations for adolescents and within the series of basic vaccines found in the immunization schedule in Qatar.
