Mayo hospital supports Unicef ‘Get a Vaccine, Give a Vaccine’ campaign

STAFF in Mayo University Hospital are once again supporting the Unicef ‘Get a Vaccine, Give a Vaccine’ campaign by getting their flu vaccination.

For every member of staff who gets a flu vaccine, the Saolta University Health Care Group will donate 10 polio vaccines to Unicef.

This is the fourth year that staff have been supporting Unicef in this way and last year a total of 45,500 vaccines were donated on behalf of staff in the Saolta Group of hospitals, including Mayo University Hospital.

Joe Canning, Unicef ambassador and Galway senior hurler, launched the campaign this week.

Catherine Donohoe, manager at Mayo University Hospital, said: “I’m proud of the support from all our staff for this campaign which supports children in very vulnerable living conditions. For each one of us who gets the vaccine, 10 polio vaccines will be donated to Unicef and at two doses per child, we are each able to help protect five children from a devastating disease.”

Unicef executive director Peter Power explained: “Every year Unicef procures and distributes over one billion doses of polio vaccines and since 1988, the number of children affected by polio has reduced by 99 per cent – from 350,000 cases in 125 countries, to fewer than 200 cases today in just two countries.

“However, polio virus transmission is expected to increase in Pakistan and Afghanistan and in many under-immunised areas of Africa. In addition to interruptions to vaccination campaigns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these children live in remote, fragile and conflict-affected areas which makes reaching them with vaccines more difficult. Failure to eradicate polio now would lead to global resurgence of the disease, resulting in as many as 200,000 new cases annually, within 10 years.

“The support we are receiving from staff in the Saolta hospitals will really make a difference to our polio vaccination programme at a time when Covid-19 is disrupting life-saving immunisation services and putting children at risk.”

To view a video message from Joe Canning, Unicef ambassador, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRBW-fJ8pC0