ABU DHABI // Citizens and residents between the ages of 19 and 34 are to be offered free MMR vaccines from Sunday.
The Health Authority Abu Dhabi campaign is in line with World Health Organisation guidelines to prevent the spread of measles, mumps and rubella, reported Aletihad, the sister newspaper of The National.
The vaccine will be given to expatriate workers at medical centres, residential compounds, universities and schools. Healthcare professionals and government workers who have not been immunised will also be vaccinated for free.
All Emiratis, residents and visitors in the age group can be vaccinated, regardless of the number of doses they have previously had, whether they have already caught the diseases or their level of health insurance coverage.
Those with allergies to the vaccine, sufferers of immunodeficiency diseases such as cancer or Aids, and pregnant women are exempt from being vaccinated.
Dr Imad Salman, family medicine consultant at Madinat Mohammed bin Zayed Healthcare Centre, said the MMR vaccine was usually given in two doses to infants, when they were 12 months and 18 months old.
He said if older people contracted these diseases, the complications can be much more serious than for children.
Haad’s campaign is supported by the Ministry of Health and Dubai Health Authority.
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