Dubai: With thousands of people either entering or leaving the UAE every day, a new online vaccination tracking system will be very handy, the Ministry of Health announced yesterday.
The service is being tested. It will offer e-mail and SMS reminders for vaccination schedules. One can view and update personal profile information, view any history of adverse events, following immunisation. Residents will be given ID numbers to register for the service
UAE residents will now get real-time information of their vaccination schedules in any part of the globe through a new online programme launched by the Ministry of Health.
The programme will keep tabs on the vaccinations taken and the immunisation jabs your children need through the online system which will also notify people by SMS. The immunisation coverage is high in the UAE and the incidence of disease is low because of the National Immunisation Programme, Dr Ebrahim Al Qadi, director of preventive medicine, said when he announced the new system yesterday. The vaccinations are free of charge at government hospitals and clinics.
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He said eventually all government and private clinics authorised to give vaccinations will be linked electronically. That means if a person moves to another emirate over time, it will keep track automatically.
The system will eventually link all health providers, including the military hospitals, he said.
Everyone will be given an ID number and a password to keep track of their vaccination records online. The National Immunisation Programme covers children from birth to pre-school (and sometimes till 13 years of age), adults who fall in the high-risk group, with diseases as hepatitis, and those travelling to countries and need vaccinations such as for meningitis, the doctor said.
He said that vaccinations given here are very safe and advised everyone to get vaccinated as it is the most cost-beneficial method to avoid disease. The director said the online system will also have informative data on what vaccinations are taken for which diseases.
"About 60 per cent of the people do not know what diseases the vaccinations are given for," he said.
Cases in 2009 (for AIDS, viral hepatitis B and TB)
- Bangladeshi (male), 2,350
- Indians (male), 1,702
- Pakistani (male), 1,535
AIDS (tested positive)
- Bangladeshi male — 14
- Bangladeshi female — 12
- Indian male — 96
- Indian female — 47
- Pakistani male — 14
- Pakistani female — 33
- Filipino male — 5
- Filipinas — 21
Total cases for all nationalities
- AIDS 431
- Viral Hepatitis B 7,303
- TB 1,501
Source: Ministry of Health
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