US, Haiti kick off vaccination campaigns

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitian and U.S. officials are launching a nationwide vaccination campaign that seeks to curb or prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the effort to vaccinate Haitians is critical because the country remains vulnerable to infectious diseases brought from outside.

The campaign seeks to vaccinate Haitians for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio and other diseases.

Sebelius kicked off the campaign Monday after she toured a hospital in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.