A nationwide vaccination campaign with oral polio vaccine was launched today in Ukraine in response to a polio outbreak in the country. WHO applauded the decision taken by the Ministry of Health to begin the campaign, which is mandated by international guidelines as part of a comprehensive outbreak response. “With the campaign now under way, we call on health care providers and parents in Ukraine to exercise their right and responsibility to vaccinate all children in the designated age groups urgently to stop transmission of this dreaded virus,” said Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

The first phase of the campaign will target 2.85 million children under the age of 6. At least two additional rounds, with one targeting 4.75 million children up to 10 years, are expected to follow at 1-month intervals. The vaccine is to be given free to all children in the designated age groups.