Pneumococcal vaccines are given from childhood, and the Bolivian government guarantees biological vaccines.
La Paz, October 31, 2023 (ABI). – Health and Sports Minister Maria Rene Castro on Tuesday urged people to take their children to health centers to receive the pneumococcal vaccine to protect them against meningitis.
“We have children who must be vaccinated from now on. We urge all families to complete the entire vaccination schedule for pneumococcal, influenza, Covid-19, ECR, FDP, pentavalent vaccines,” Castro said, according to the agency report .
Castro explained that the pneumococcal vaccine is given at a young age and the national government guarantees the biological vaccine.
The health minister clarified that the two cases of meningitis in two children in La Paz are isolated and may be cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a “bacteria well known in the environment that often causes pneumonia and which can be treated today with a vaccine Vaccination can prevent it.”
Authorities explained that meningitis typically presents with symptoms such as high fever, neck pain, cold hands and feet, vomiting, some neurological difficulties, blurred vision, and even loss of some sensation or some kind of neurological change.
“So it’s important for parents to be very aware of the symptoms their children are experiencing,” Castro added.