The way Health Officials in Tonga treat patients with vaccines to produce immunity against a disease has been reviewed at the Tonga Family Health office at Vaiola Motuʻa.

A three-day workshop to fullfil the work began on Monday 9 – 11 was assisted by a specialist doctor from the World Health Organisation in Fiji.

Supervising Public Health Nursing Sister from the Ministry of Health, Afu Tei, was quoted in a statement as saying the review us to update the Ministry’s guidelines with the latest information available about how immunisation is being conducted.

Amelia
Specialist from WHO and Chief Nursing Officer Dr. ‘Amelia Afuha’amango Tu’ipulotu during the workshop. Photo/MOH

Last year Trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine was introduced to replace Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine in an attempt to eradicate polio around the world and the Pacific region.

“It has been 10 years since the last review in 2005 and we are trying to input the latest data that we have and to update the handbook with the new immunizations that were introduced lately,” she said.

“This is a great achievement for the ministry especially with the immunization division because through this review we are thinking of developing an immunization policy for the future.”

The Immunization Handbook is a guideline for nurses to follow while practicing immunization.