THE mass vaccination of secondary school students in Brunei-Muara resumed yesterday with more than 300 students from Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien College and Sayyidina Hassan Secondary School getting their Influenza A (H1N1) jabs at the National Indoor Stadium.
The immunisation programme, a collaboration between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Department of Schools, aims to inoculate 20,000 students in 20 secondary schools throughout district by late April.
A MoH spokesperson said, “Similar initiatives are being implemented in other districts.”
A source at the Department of Schools told The Brunei Times that the department has assigned one principal from each district to coordinate the schedule for the mass vaccination of students in their respective districts.
“Once the vaccination of all secondary schools in Brunei-Muara has been completed by late April, we fully intend to continue the programme with primary schools,” added the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
Dr Ong Sok King, coordinator at the National Indoor vaccination centre, also encouraged private schools to have their students inoculated at any of the ministry’s eight vaccination centres.
“Children interact very closely with one another at school and the virus becomes easily transmissible from child to child. This is what we want to prevent,” she said.
Students receiving a H1N1 vaccination jab at the National Indoor Stadium in Berakas. The mass vaccination for secondary school students in Brunei-Muara resumed yesterday. Picture: BT/Zamri Zainal
“Young children are at high risk from developing serious complications from an H1N1 influenza infection because their immune systems are not fully developed,” she added.
Dr Ong said that it was especially important for children with chronic conditions such as asthma to get the H1N1 jab because their respiratory systems are not stable.
“As long as an asthmatic child is over six months, not exhibiting any signs of fever or breathing difficulties at the time they take the jab, then they are eligible to get it,” she said.
Dr Ong also wanted to dispel recent concerns by worried parents that children with eczema should not get the inoculation. “This is absolutely incorrect,” she stated.
“The H1N1 influenza is still classified in the pandemic phase by the World Health Organisation. As a public health issue, we have to do everything in our power to prevent the spread of this virus.”
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