The national immunization coverage survey kicked off today (Monday) in all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, which runs until March 19.

The survey is implemented by the Ministry of Health (MOH), represented by the Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control.

The national survey targets children less than (5) years and mothers with children less than (5) years.

The national immunization coverage survey took off from Sayyida Fatima bint Ali Mosque in al-Hail with the presence of Dr. Thamra Said Al-Ghafri, Director General of Health Services of Muscat Governorate along with Bader Saif al-Rawahi, Director of Communicable Diseases Control and a number of MOH officials.

Dr. Lamia Al-Balushi, Director of Diseases Surveillance and Control, pointed out that the survey aims to measure the morbidity burden resulting from diseases included in the vaccines and identify the reasons for the delay in taking or refraining from vaccines.

Dr. Al-Balushi stressed that vaccines are an important way to protect people from communicable diseases preventing outbreaks associated with diseases included in the vaccines. The vaccines give newborns a chance to grow healthy and reduce mortality rates.

In Muscat Governorate, the (12) teams headed to the houses of targeted children, which number about (3702) children.

The national survey aims to validate the results of routine reports and provide information, in addition to the number of people who have been adequately immunized at all levels (at the national, governorate, and wilayats levels). It also aims to guide executive policies by presenting best practices, highlighting challenges that require interactive intervention to improve the performance of the national immunization program, and identifying the reasons for the delay in taking or refraining from vaccines.

The survey’s target is to visit 5,289 homes to obtain immunization data for 16,470 of the target groups, the category of children from one year and a half to five years of age, in order to verify the immunizations data in different age stages according to the national immunization schedule, and the category of mothers who have children under the age of 5 years (to verify if they have vaccinated during pregnancy).

The field survey teams, which will introduce themselves and the purpose of the visit, and survey, will visit the randomly selected houses in the various wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman. The team will first ask whether there are target groups in the house; if any, verbal consent to start the survey will be obtained. The immunization data of the target groups will be obtained directly from mothers or the child’s caregiver. The survey team will use an electronic or paper questionnaire form prepared in advance by the team to collect the required data.

The survey team will upload a copy of the immunization cards (pink for children) or (green for mothers) for documentation. The presence of the child is not required during the survey. In case of an unvaccinated child, they will be referred to the nearest health institution.

No vaccines, medicines, or taking samples will be performed during the survey.