Following an advisory by the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) urging members of the public to get vaccinated against measles, checks by Stabroek News at several city health centres found that they have the vaccine in stock.
Uptake was limited, according to officials at the health centre. This is not surprising though as Guyana’s vaccination rate is of global standard and the country has been certified measles free with the last case of measles recorded in 1991, according to the Pan-American Health Organization.
However, with measles outbreaks in Venezuela and Brazil and with a number of Venezuelans fleeing the economic crisis in their homeland settling in Guyana, the MPH has advised everyone living in Guyana to be vaccinated against measles. Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud had told Stabroek News that the vaccine could be obtained from any public health centre or hospital.
Checks by Stabroek News at a few health centres around Georgetown yesterday revealed that some only had doses for children while others have for both children and adults.
At the Youth Friendly Health Centre on South Road, one of the nurses, who asked not to be named, said that they currently have the vaccine for both children and adults and a few persons had come in so far for the vaccine.
At the Albouystown Health Centre, Stabroek News was told that they currently have available the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is a combination vaccine that is said to protect against all three viruses and is usually administered to infants. When asked, one of the nurses at the centre said that the MMR vaccine is sometimes administered to adults as well. It is also available to be administered to children at the East La Penitence Health Centre.
At the Agricola Health Centre, one of the nurses told Stabroek News that they have the combination MMR vaccine and they also offer the vaccine to both children and adults. The nurse, who asked to not be named, said that subsequent to the MPH notice, they are yet to see patients coming and inquiring about the vaccine.
The ministry had urged persons living in Guyana to get vaccinated citing the increasing number of measles outbreaks worldwide including in neighbouring Brazil and Venezuela. A medical official had told Stabroek News that the decision was taken as a preventative action as many Venezuelans who have been fleeing the economic crisis in their country have settled in Guyana.
“Any person suspected of measles will show symptoms of fever; generalized rash; and all, or any of the three Cs (cough, conjunctivitis [red eyes] and choryza) and Koplik spots [clustered, white lesions] inside the mouth are also typical of the disease,” the MPH had said.
