Mass vaccinations for quake-hit areas

Residents in quake-affected areas in Sichuan province including Lushan and Baoxing counties will receive hepatitis A and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination beginning Monday so as to prevent potential health calamities, the Beijing News reported Monday.

The vaccines will be administered at resettlement sites starting May 6 and running through May 12.

A 15-month-old boy receives MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine at a temporary vaccination site in Lushan, Southwest China’s Sichuan province, May 6, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Children aged between 18 months and 14 years will be given one dose of inactivated hepatitis A vaccine. Children between the ages of 8 months and 14 years will receive one dose of gills leprosy vaccine.

Hand-foot-mouth disease and acute conjunctivitis are among the infectious diseases likely to break out during the summer and autumn seasons in the quake-hit areas, according to statistics released from the Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Sichuan Health Department has already taken measures to prevent any outbreak of the diseases.

No infectious disease outbreaks or public health emergencies have been found in the quake-hit city of Ya'an, officials from the city's health department said. Measures to maintain safe drinking water and sanitation at resettlement sites have already been implemented by the department.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake jolted Ya'an city on April 20, killing 196.