The Enugu State Government yesterday said over 1.5 million children have so far received vaccination against measles and rubella within a week in the ongoing statewide immunisation against the diseases.

The Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency Secretary Ifeyinwa Ani-Ocheku said this during the kick-off of the integrated measles-rubella vaccination campaign held at the Michael Okpara Square on Wednesday.

Ani-Ocheku added that the number represented about 68 per cent of Enugu’s target population of 2.2 million children, describing the figure as unprecedented and the state’s commitment to achieving zero cases of the disease. She also described the exercise as a “historic and deliberate” move to protect Enugu’s future.

According to her, health workers embarked on aggressive community mobilisation, moving from house to house, schools, churches and mosques to ensure that no child was left out. She said no serious adverse effects had been recorded since the exercise began.