TEHRAN – Many diseases have been eradicated through mass vaccination programs in Iran, and the children’s health is equal to that of developed countries, deputy health minister Kamal Heydari, has said.

He made the remarks on the occasion of World Immunization Week 2022, celebrated annually in the last week of April.

With the efforts of all officials and those involved in the development of vaccination, many diseases that were once considered a serious threat to the people’s health have now been eliminated, and the health of Iranian children is at the level of developed countries and in some indicators are exceeding the region and the world, he explained.

Concerns about the spread of measles in the country are growing as the Afghan population grows. Eradication of diseases such as rubella, measles, and polio in Iran has been approved by the World Health Organization, he noted, expressing concern over the outbreak of these diseases in some neighboring countries including, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Therefore, everyone should pay attention to vaccination coverage and include their children in the full coverage of vaccines that are offered in health centers.

Concerns about the spread of measles in the country are growing as the Afghan population grows, so the measles vaccination operation for non-Iranian people, including Afghans, was put on the agenda and implemented, he noted.

Measles mostly infects children under the age of 10, and all families need to get their children vaccinated between the ages of 12 to 18 months, he said, adding that vaccination will be free of charge.

The measles vaccination program in Iran started in 1984 when 34 percent of the population was vaccinated in the first year and 90 to 95 percent of the population after 6 years. Also in 2003, 33 million people were vaccinated with a national program to eradicate measles in the country.

Then it was managed to minimize the measles incidence rate in three years and increase vaccination coverage to 95 to 98 percent. In 2019, the World Health Organization approved the elimination of measles and rubella in Iran.

Some 64 percent of the infected people are Afghans, 3 percent are Pakistanis and the rest are Iranians. The disease causes severe symptoms in people with malnutrition, including blindness, pneumonia, and brain infection.

The disease is much more contagious than coronavirus, and kills one to five percent of the patients,” Zahraei said on May 9.

World Immunization Week

World Immunization Week 2022, celebrated from April 24 to 30, aims to highlight the collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.

'Long Life for All - Vaccines, in the pursuit of a long life well lived' is the theme of this year.

WHO works with countries across the globe to raise awareness of the value of vaccines and immunization and ensures that governments obtain the necessary guidance and technical support to implement high-quality immunization programs. The ultimate goal of World Immunization Week is for more people – and their communities – to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

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