Not sufficient amount of vaccine for H1N1 in Arakan State

21 Aug 2019

Min Tun | DMG

21 August, Sittwe

Arakan State does not have a sufficient amount of the vaccine for the influenza H1N1, according to the State’s Department of Public Health.

As many as 10,000 units of the vaccine against the H1N1 has been allocated for Arakan State and it is insufficient for the region, said Dr Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Department of Public Health in Arakan State.

“The population of Arakan State is 2.8 million. But, the vaccine ration is allocated just for 10,000. The vaccine is aimed for children under five year’s old, pregnant women and people over 65 years old,” he said.

The WHO has donated the vaccine for Myanmar and Arakan State is allocated 10,000 units.

The department has informed proper authorities about the insufficient amount of the vaccine and has been conducting immunizing programs in eight majorly affected townships.

“We immunize people against H1N1 in the cities where the influenza mostly broke out. We give priority to the most vulnerable groups in Sittwe,” Dr Soe Win Paing said.

The number of H1N1 infected patients in Arakan State has reached 11 this year and most of them are found in Sittwe, Mrauk-U, Manaung, Gwa and Ann townships, according to the Department of Public Health in Arakan State.