GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Staff from the Collective Prevention Service (CPS) took part in a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO led ‘Events Supposedly Attributable to Vaccines and Immunizations (ESAVI)’ training recently which was successfully concluded.
Nine persons took part in the ESAVI topic and 11 took part in the cold chain training. ESAVI training is about a set of symptoms that occur after a vaccination has been given, which causes concern and is supposedly attributable to the vaccination.
The cold chain is the system of transporting and storing vaccines at +2oC to +8oC to avoid cumulative irreversible loss of potency from heat exposure. It is the equipment, people and procedures that keep vaccines cold during their journey from the manufacturer to the patient.
The training benefits the staff and keeps them abreast of the latest developments related to their work regarding cold chain and ESAVI. This allows staff to continue to carry out their work in a safe and effective manner.
The benefits for the babies, toddlers, teens and parents and the community overall is that with the ongoing training of the staff and follow up with the recommendations made, they benefit from a safe and effective national immunization program, that will protect the children and the community at large from vaccine preventable diseases as well as outbreaks of the aforementioned.
The training was facilitated by Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, Sub-Regional Advisor for the Expanded Program of Immunizations (EPI) Program from the PAHO Office in Jamaica.
PHOTO CUTLINE: CPS staff listening keenly to Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell (left). DCOMM Photo
