Kazakhstan purchases over 1.8 mln doses of whooping cough vaccines for children

According to the Kazakh Ministry of Health, vaccination remains the most reliable and effective protection against whooping cough. To date, over 149,400 children in Kazakhstan have received vaccinations as part of the immunization program. The scheduled immunization against whooping cough is still ongoing, Kazinform News Agency reports.

“In accordance with the resolution of the Kazakh Government, children under 7 years old are shall be vaccinated against whooping cough. Within the statutory free medical assistance (SFMA), three types of vaccines are purchased for immunization: Hexaxim, Pentaxim, and DPT,” Nurshay Azimbayeva, the Head of the Department for the Control of Vaccine-Preventable Infections at the Healthcare Ministry, stated.

Over 700,000 doses of Hexaxim and 760,000 doses of Pentaxim vaccines have been purchased for year 2024. A total of 437,000 children have been  vaccinated with Hexaxim, while 435,000 children got  Pentaxim vaccine over the past eight months.

On top of that, the Ministry of Healthcare has purchased over 360,000 doses of the DPT vaccine for children aged 6 to 7 . From January to August of 2024, 213,000 children were adiministered the abovementioned vaccine.

As the winter season approaches, the risk for an increase in cases of whooping cough persists, particularly among unvaccinated children. As the Ministry states, from 80 to 90% of those infected are unvaccinated children.