As in previous years, vaccine is provided from the national budget funds for children at high risk of complications from the influenza: those having chronic cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and other diseases. Vaccination also includes children at high risk of getting the infection in close-resident teams like children’s homes, orphanages, etc. Experience shows that without vaccination the influenza virus would cause the disease among the majority of those children.
In pre-epidemic season 2011 specialists will raise the influenza awareness to protect children attending kindergartens and schools against this disease. It is planned to vaccinate every second child there.
Vaccination among educators, teachers and other childcare professionals will prevent the spread of the virus among children as well. The planned coverage of the employees is 40%. Vaccination of these specialists will be covered by the city budget.
Written consent is required from parents and it will be kept in child’s medical record. A vaccination team (doctor and nurse) will arrive at a certain day to a school or kindergarten. If parents want to be with their child at the moment of vaccination they are offered the vaccine at the community clinic.
It is planned to provide protection for infants under 6 months of age as the course of the disease is serious in this age. Given that such young children can’t be vaccinated against influenza, the vaccine will be offered to the adults in contact with a child of this age.
Last year in Minsk there were vaccinated 44% of children (123,000).
EpiNorth c/o Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O.Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway. Tel: + 47 21 07 67 45, Fax: + 47 21 07 65 13, E-mail: