CIHEB-Kenya’s TRACK program with funding from and in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting a study on routine immunization dubbed “Assessment of Strategies to Strengthen Delivery of Routine Catch-up Immunization among Children below 60 months of age in Siaya County, Western Kenya.” The aim of the study is to improve the timely vaccination of children by facilitating their full immunization by 60 months of age and to inform routine catch-up policy for Kenya.
Catch-up vaccination refers to vaccinating an individual who, for whatever reason, is missing or has not received doses of vaccines for which they are eligible, per the national immunization schedule. An effective immunization program should have a catch-up vaccination schedule, policy, and operational instructions to support ongoing catch-up vaccination strategies. To achieve this, CIHEB-Kenya is working with the National Vaccines and Immunization Program (NVIP) to understand routine immunization uptake and practices in Siaya County. In a meeting with the Head of NVIP, Dr. Lucy Mecca, discussions on the program’s implementation and how other counties will benefit were discussed. Dr. Mecca lauded the innovative strategies to reach the target population and bridge the gap of high numbers of unvaccinated children under five years of age and reiterated the government’s commitment to developing policies that ensure that all children receive the recommended vaccinations ensuring they are protected against vaccine-preventable life-threatening illnesses.
Routine immunization site support supervision for CIHEB-Kenya’s TRACK Program in Siaya County by our CEO, Dr. Emily Koech, Director of Research, Dr. Sam Wafula, and TRACK Program Director, Dr. Christina Mwachari.
On November 14 and 15, the program trained research assistants and sub-county Public Health Nurses from Ugenya, Ugunja, Alego Usonga, Bondo, Rarieda and Gem, and Siaya County Immunization Lead. The training was facilitated by the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Pierre Muhoza from CDC and CIHEB Kenya TRACK Program Staff.
Catch Up Vaccination Training in Siaya County for research assistants, Sub-county Public Health Nurses from Ugenya, Ugunja, Alego Usonga, Bondo, Rarieda and Gem, and Siaya County Immunization Lead. The training is conducted by the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Pierre Muhoza from CDC and CIHEB Kenya TRACK Program Staff.
During the training, the TRACK Program Director, Dr. Christina Mwachari, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had interrupted immunization services, caused delays in seeking immunization services, resulting in increased children missing their doses of recommended vaccines. Thus, there is a need to generate information on the feasibility, processes, outcomes, and costs of routine catch-up vaccination to inform decision-making at the country level to support routine catch-up vaccination.
During a study site visit on December 6-8 for technical support to the research teams, the CEO, Dr. Emily Koech commended the team for maintaining high standards in data abstraction and emphasized the importance of adherence to study procedures and data quality assurance, as the data collected will provide insights on areas needing strengthening and guide the formulation of targeted interventions to optimize catch-up vaccination.