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Macao (MNA) – The Health Bureau (SS) currently has 1,700 measles vaccines in its stock.
According to remarks made Thursday by the director of the Bureau, Lei Chin Ion, on the sidelines of a committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), the number is "enough for children and medical staff".
The health authority has ordered the delivery of some 15,000 vaccines to Macau, with the first batch of 5,400 expected to arrive next week.
Beginning at 8:30, residents must make an appointment with the health centers, by phone or personally, to receive their vaccine.
Children under two, nursery staff and health professionals are exempt from appointments.
Asked about the possibility of lowering the age of vaccination of babies – currently set at 12 months for the first vaccine – Mr Lei said that there would be no policy changes to at this stage, claiming that babies "could not generate enough antibodies" before reaching one year of age.
"Eight-month-olds can be vaccinated, but the success rate is low," said Lei.
Health officials in Hong Kong lowered the age of the second injection of the vaccine yesterday to 18 months, from six years to 18 months after the number of confirmed cases of measles reached 30 years, Morning of South China reported.
The director of the SS added that the Bureau "will follow the recommendations of the WHO [World Health Organisation] Immunization Directive. "
The WHO guidelines for measles immunization stipulate that the first dose should be given between 9 and 12 months, the minimum age being six months.
"Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It is a leading cause of death in young children around the world, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, "reads the WHO chapter on the disease.
The organization says that about 7 million people were affected in 2016 and that about 110,000 died of the disease in 2017.
Lei added that there was currently no update on the situation at Kiang Wu Hospital, where 15 people were reported to have been infected since the measles outbreak.
The private hospital was considered a case of collective infection by the SS earlier this week.
* With Jane Wong
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