So far this year, there have been seven thousand cases of measles and 72 deaths due to this virus in America. Hence, an extraordinary day of vaccination against measles will be launched in December to protect children, even if they have already been vaccinated.
If you have children whose ages range between 15 months old and 10 years old, you should vaccinate them against measles at the corresponding health center.
The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) estimates that 680 thousand children should reach health centers to be vaccinated against this disease, so they acquired 770 thousand doses to run this extraordinary day.
The CCSS reported on Wednesday that the measure is preventive, because in Costa Rica said vaccine is applied when the children are one year and three months old and another one at seven years old. However, before the complications that can be generated and the existence of a percentage of children who do not have protection, they opted for this national day. The investment of the institution amounts to 1.2 million dollars.
Measles is a very contagious and serious disease, caused by a virus that spreads easily through the air through droplets that are expelled from the nose, mouth or pharynx of affected people. People infected have symptoms such as rashes on the skin (they start in the head and spread to the rest of the body), itching, sensitivity to light, sore throat and tiny white spots inside the mouth.
According to Dr. Leandra Abarca, coordinator of the Immunization Program of the CCSS, as the children grow, the parents’ concern about completing the vaccines that correspond to their children decreases and this leaves them exposed.
According to the CCSS records, the last case of measles was registered in 2005 and the last imported case occurred in 2014.