Pressroom

Source: Irish Examiner

By: Murray, Niall

06/04/2012

Irish health authorities are planning to launch a national measles vaccination campaign in response to a recent outbreak in West Cork. The program will be introduced in all schools starting in September—first targeting secondary schools and then extending to primary schools. The outbreak affected more than 50 students last month, many of them at Schull Community College. The Health Service Executive reiterated the need for parents to make sure their children are vaccinated, especially focusing on more vulnerable, younger children. Approximately 86 percent of two-year-olds in West Cork were vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella last year; the nationwide rate is 92 percent.