Rwanda to roll out combined measles-rubella vaccination campaign

"Rwanda has been so successful at fighting measles that next month it will be the first country to get donor support to move to the next stage -- fighting rubella too," the New York Times reports. "On March 11, it will hold a nationwide three-day vaccination campaign with a combined measles-rubella vaccine, hoping to reach nearly five million children up to age 14," the newspaper adds. "The dual vaccine costs twice as much -- 52 cents a dose at UNICEF prices, compared with 24 cents for measles alone," according to the newspaper, which notes the Measles and Rubella Initiative -- "a partnership of many health agencies, vaccine companies, donors and others, [and] led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization" -- "will provide the vaccine and help pay for the campaign." According to the New York Times, "More than 90 percent of Rwandan children now are vaccinated twice against measles, and cases have been near zero since 2007" (McNeil, 2/25).