Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will soon license certain private clinics to offer vaccinations to children as the national immunisation programme tries to maximise its reach.
A senior official said on Monday that nearly 41 per cent of clinics had no reminder system and that a still larger percentage had no system to track children who had not been administered their vaccines.
Dr Ali Al Marzouqi, director of public health and safety at DHA, told Gulf News that a multi-national population mix in Dubai meant that many parents preferred to follow the vaccination schedules tailored for their home countries and this was affecting the national immunisation programme.
Vaccination schedules in each country were drawn up keeping in mind diseases prevalent in that country, he said. Parents were welcome to request extra vaccines they thought would help protect their children, he added.
Under the national immunisation programme the UAE offers vaccination for diseases like polio (though the UAE is polio-free), hepatitis-B, tetanus and measles.
Dr Al Marzouqi said the the national immunisation programme is offering vaccines for 14 diseases compared to six when the initiative first took off in 1980.
He said there was also a need to standardise immunisation procedures in Dubai and offer safe vaccines for children. "Do not neglect to vaccinate your child," he said emphasising how it could keep various diseases at bay.
Coordination issues
Presently, vaccination services are provided by both public and private sectors in Dubai. However, there is inadequate coordination between different health sectors that provide immunisation services and there is no uniform immunisation policy.
Dr Al Marzouqi said a study to assess immunisation services in Dubai conducted last year had found that there was a clear need to reform the existing services and to implement a uniform immunisation policy.
