As of 2 June 2016, a total of 1 947 567 people have been vaccinated against Yellow Fever in the provinces of Kinshasa and Kongo Central. The vaccination campaign began on 26 May 2016. Many people have rushed to get vaccinated including many people from districts that were not targetted for vaccination. This is good news because it means people understand the importance of vaccination. However, despite concerted efforts by WHO and partners and manufacturers, global vaccine stocks remain low.
Local partners like the Red Cross in the DRC are supporting the campaign. Here a Red Cross volunteer verifies the vaccination cards of the those wanting to get vaccinated to make sure that they have not been vaccinated before. Almost 2000 vaccinators have been mobilized in about 987 vaccination sites (647 in in Kongo Central and 331 in Kinshasa province), together with support from the provincial authorities, WHO, UNICEF, Save the Children and the GAVI Alliance.
"Remember if you are pregnant or if your baby is younger than 9 months old, do not be in the vaccination queue, protect yourself from getting bitten from mosquitoes!” is the message by the town crier outsider a vaccination site as queues of people in the densely populated suburb of Masina in Kinshasa patiently wait their turn to get vaccinated. Community engagement to mobilise communities to protect themselves against mosquito bites, and to destroy mosquito breeding sites around their homes, forms part of the vaccination campaign activities.