The current sanitary and epidemiological situation in Kazakhstan was considered at the first Government session of the new year, chaired by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
As noted by Minister of Health Azhar Giniyat, at the end of 2023, the epidemiologic situation on infectious diseases remained stable. Thanks to preventive measures, 20 particularly dangerous infectious diseases, including plague, cholera and polio, were not registered. At the same time, there was a decrease in the incidence of 39 infections, including coronavirus, rotavirus and acute intestinal infections.
Currently, the regular season of acute respiratory infections, which lasts from October to May annually, continues. Last year, 2.4 million people from risk groups were vaccinated against influenza as a preventive measure, which is 12% of the country's population. At the same time, the WHO recommended level is not less than 10%.
In general, since the beginning of the epidemic season, more than 31 thousand patients have been treated in hospitals, and more than 2 million patients have been treated on an outpatient basis. In total, about 10 thousand infectious beds have been deployed in the country, including about 3 thousand for children.
Despite the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relevant monitoring continues. The situation on coronavirus infection in the Republic of Kazakhstan is stable. During the last 6 months, 100 to 400 cases were recorded monthly, which confirms the year-round circulation of coronavirus among the population.
By the end of 2023, more than 29,000 cases of measles have been registered in the country, of which 80% are children under 14 years of age. Since January 1, 1,674 cases of measles have been detected. To stabilize the situation, scheduled vaccination was carried out last year, as a result of which about 700,000 children under the age of six were vaccinated.
In addition, funds were allocated from the Government reserve and 1.5 million doses of vaccines against measles, rubella and mumps were purchased. To date, more than 930 thousand people have been immunized within the framework of additional vaccination, more than 20 thousand people are covered daily.
The measures to strengthen immunization against measles in the regions were told by the akim of Karaganda region Yermaganbet Bulekpayev and the akim of Kostanay region Kumar Aksakalov.
Prime Minister emphasized that according to the results of monitoring last year there were no patients with the most dangerous infections. At the same time, there is a decrease in many common viral infections.
"At the same time, since last year in Kazakhstan there has been an increase in the incidence of measles. This outbreak is the largest in the country for the last 10 years. About 80% of the sick are children under 14 years old. And most of them have not received the necessary vaccination," Alikhan Smailov said.
He added that unvaccinated patients have a high risk of severe complications. However, quite a number of parents deliberately refuse to vaccinate their children, which can lead to serious consequences.
"The only way to stabilize the situation with measles is vaccination. For additional mass immunization against measles, 1.5 million doses of vaccines have been purchased. For this purpose, the Government allocated over 3 billion tenge from the reserve last September. However, as we see, the coverage of immunization against measles in some regions remains low," the Prime Minister pointed out.
In this regard, Alikhan Smailov instructed to expand the coverage of immunization against measles, as well as to intensify vaccination with other preventive vaccinations.
"It is very important to create conditions for vaccination of citizens in hard-to-reach and remote rural settlements," he stressed.
Prime Minister also outlined the need to ensure an appropriate mode of storage and transportation of vaccines, especially in rural areas, while increasing the responsibility of health workers.
"We must necessarily monitor the dissemination of deliberately false information about vaccination in the press and social networks and promptly respond to such statements. District medical workers should explain to parents about the importance and safety of preventive vaccinations for children," Prime Minister concluded.