Governors back polio jab

Council of Governors (CoG) Chairman Peter Munya has said the council fully supports the national polio vaccination programme launched on Saturday.

Mr Munya, who is also Meru governor, therefore asked parents to take their young children to health centres to receive the jab.

He said those opposed to the drive had not presented any credible evidence that the vaccine is harmful to the reproductive health of recipients.

"There is no research that has been done to determine that the vaccine is bad and we support the Government's efforts to reach all corners of the country," he said.

The CoG chief said the vaccine is needed so as to contain the disease, adding that some counties remain at risk.

Widely used

"Polio is still a challenge for this nation. As the CoG, we do not have any problem with the vaccine and we are partnering with the Government to make the exercise a success," he said.

Munya said the jab has successfully been administered in India, whose population continues to soar.

"India's citizens continue to give birth yet they have been taking the immunisation for many years. This shows that claims of the jab causing damage to one's reproductive health are unfounded," he said.

The governor spoke even as a section of religious leaders expressed their opposition to the jab, claiming it is not fit for consumption.

Others have claimed the polio vaccine aims at controlling population growth, a claim denied by Ministry of Health officials.