The Regional Executive Director of the Ministry of National Guard -Health Affairs in the Eastern Region, Dr. Ahmad Al Arfaj launched the Flu Vaccine Campaign which was organized by the Infection Control Department in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacology at King Abdulaziz Hospital – Al Ahsa. On this occasion, Dr. Al Arfaj said that "this activity, which is being held for the second time in a row, aims to raise awareness in regards to the necessary vaccines to combat the symptoms of influenza, and I commend all the efforts of those in charge of this campaign".
Moreover, one of the goals of this campaign is to highlight some of the misconceptions associated with this type of vaccine to all employees that it might lower your immune system or could cause you fatigue. However, meeting the employees last year had a huge impact and success for us to launch it again this year.
In addition, Infectious Diseases Consultant and Director of the Infection Control Department, Dr. Ayman Al-Jamal said that: "the approach behind this campaign was to reach all staff members while sparing them the waiting time in the clinic, thus saving both his time and effort and spreading awareness regarding this vaccine”.
He also explained that "the campaign targeted patients with chronic diseases such as heart and kidney diseases, cancer and diabetes patients and everyone with a low immune system, it also targeted children aged 6 months to five years and adults over the age of 65 ". The second phase of the campaign will cover MNG-HA affiliated schools as well as military personnel".
Dr. Al-Jamal also said: " The turnout this year was much more than last year and a 100 flu shots were administered two hours before the launching of the campaign, and this strongly indicates the increasing levels of awareness and demand among employees. Last year, 4,500 flu shots were administered and we expect the number of doses to reach up to 8,000".
On the other hand, Public Health Worker, Ms. Wedad AlTarifi commented by saying that " the staff members had fill out a questionnaire form that contains questions about the employee’s general health, allergies, or if he or she are currently using any antibiotics, and many were reluctant due to the side effects that might appear after taking the vaccine, but we corrected those misconception by clarifying that one out of five people can experience flu-like symptoms. It is true that the flu shot might have some side effects, but they’re mild compared to the benefits of the vaccine on the long run.