FSM Information Services
Press Release
All FSM States Begin Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) Integrated Vaccination Campaign
PALIKIR, Pohnpei—Beginning November 21st, 2022, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) will begin a massive campaign to roll-out Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) vaccines for children aged between 1 to 3 years old, in addition to other routine vaccines for children aged between 2 to 59 months, and COVID-19 vaccines for children aged between 6 months and 4 years. The campaign will occur across all four of the Nations’ States—Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae.
Of the many unfortunate impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic, one of them is that the FSM’s routine and essential public health program activities suffered; while the FSM has historically had relatively decent coverage against MMR, the coverage as of November 21st, 2022, is the lowest in the Nation’s history. The second-dose coverage for the Measles vaccination is at 21.3%, with Kosrae’s coverage at 46%, Yap’s coverage at 34%, Chuuk’s coverage at 19%, and Pohnpei’s coverage at 16%.
The practical effect of this low vaccination coverage is that the Nation is vulnerable to a Measles outbreak. Intensifying the FSM’s efforts to administrate MMR vaccines, and other routine vaccines, is necessary in order to prevent such an outbreak.
The FSM Department of Health & Social Affairs, in partnership with the State Governments of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, is implementing the MMR vaccine at local public health clinics. Parents and/or legal guardians are encouraged to bring their children to their local public health clinic at the nearest opportunity.
