Increasing the percentage of children who have received all their immunisations by age two to 95 percent is a primary goal of the Health Department for 2004.

April 24-28 is International Vaccination Week and National Infant Immunisation Week and the Department plans to joins other countries around the world in promoting and supporting vaccinations.

The Department estimated that, out of approximately 800 babies born each year in Bermuda, 84 percent have received their immunisation against diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, polio, mumps, measles and rubella by the time they reach two years old.

They aim to increase that number to 95 percent, however, as well as stressing the importance of all children receiving their booster shots before they enter school at the age of five years.

A Department spokeswoman said adults also need to ensure their tetanus shots are up-to-date (a booster is required every ten years), and all adults should consider hepatitis B immunisation (a series of three shots). Women planning a pregnancy should also consider checking their immunity to rubella.

Additional immunisations are recommended for travel and, in some instances, may be essential for entry to a particular country.

The Travel Clinic is open on Thursday afternoons at the Hamilton Health Centre on Victoria Street.

In addition to keeping up-to-date with immunisations, the Department spokesperson said family immunisation records should be kept in a safe place so they can be easily accessed when required.

The Health Department provides free, infant immunisations to their clients. Each child is screened by a physician before commencing shots, and is carefully monitored by a registered nurse with each shot.

Vaccination is a safe and cost-effective way of preventing many communicable infectious diseases in children and adults, the Department spokesperson said.

A Health Press release stated: "The tiny risk inherent in any shot or other procedure is, by far, less than the risk to health from contracting any infectious disease.

"Complications and side effects are rare, and there is evidence that the infant immune system reacts well to the multiple immunisations even when several are combined in one shot."

Many preventable infections are still a threat to children world-wide, according to the Department. International travel and cross-border movement of people mean that children and adults who have not been immunised are more susceptible to risks of infection and possibly long-lasting damage to their health.

Wild polio virus is present in seven countries world-wide; mumps is present throughout Europe; measles is present in the Americas, Europe and Asia; chicken pox is responsible for countless days lost at work throughout the Western Hemisphere, and hepatitis B and tetanus are a risk everywhere in the world.

The Health Department Child Health Clinics are available throughout the Island. Information can be obtained by calling 236-0224, or by consulting the Government Health web site, www.healthandfamily.gov.bm.

Child immunisations are also available through paediatricians and general practitioners, and are generally covered by health insurance.