The Ministry of Health is preparing to begin a vaccination campaign for rubella and measles. The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign was officially announced at a ceremony held to mark World AIDS Day in Kulhudhuffushi City.
The health ministry stated that several cases of measles were reported in the Maldives in the middle of this year. Therefore, the ministry decided to launch a national measles vaccination campaign to prevent the spread of the disease. The campaign will begin on November 14 and the vaccine will be given to Maldivians and expatriates between the ages of 18 months and 49 years who have not received two doses of measles vaccine.
During the campaign, the vaccines will be administered at Dhamana Veshi healthcare centre, ADK Hospital, Hulhumale' Hospital, and the GP Clinic in Hulhumale' Phase II. The vaccines will also be administered at hospitals and health centres in the atolls.
The MR vaccine was introduced in the Maldives in 1983 and the country has historically maintained a vaccination coverage exceeding 95%. The achievement led the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the Maldives measles-free in 2017 and rubella-free in 2020.
However, in 2020, the country witnessed PCR-positive measles cases, prompting the launch of a nationwide MR vaccination campaign. The campaign was halted due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this year's measles outbreak, precautionary measures are now in place as the vaccination campaign resumes.