Two new vaccines will become available at the Department of Public Health in March.
The rotavirus vaccine is intended to fight against the diarrheal illness that often occurs in children younger than the two years of age, while the meningococcal vaccine fights against the bacterial infection that causes swelling of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.
The rotavirus vaccine will be taken orally by children under 6 months.
According to Centers for Disease Control regional epidemiologist Dr. Jean Paul Chiane, children under that age group are the most prone to hospitalization and high risk of death from diarrheal illness.
Medical director Dr. Richard Brostrom said the vaccine will only be given to children under 6 as it has not been proven effective for older children.
Chiane said that every country that was given the rotavirus vaccine has knocked down hospitalization for diarrheal illness s to at least 50 percent.
“Many countries have the rotavirus. It has nothing to do with the level of sanitation,” Chiane said.
Department of Public Health immunization program manager Mariana Sablan said that the Rotavirus vaccine is federally funded under the Vaccine for Children Program and the National Immunization Program.
The meningococcal vaccine is another new vaccine that helps fight against meningitis.
The meningococcal vaccination will be made available to pre-adolescent children aged 11-12 as they are at highest risk of contracting meningitis.
The first batch of the two vaccines are expected to arrive March 1.
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