An Introduction to the Manual for OCV Campaigns: What you can expect to find

Blog post March 18, 2016
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David A. Sack, MD

Professor | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
A diagram of the vaccination site and personnel. Found in chapter 7 of the Manual.

A diagram of the vaccination site and personnel. Found in chapter 7 of the Manual.

Now that the quantity of available oral cholera vaccine (OCV) will be increasing, it is more important than ever that vaccine implementers have the information they need to effectively implement vaccination campaigns. The new Manual for OCV Campaigns: For adaptation by program managers for training health care workers was created for this purpose — to serve as a tool to develop training sessions for those implementing vaccination campaigns.

The user-friendly and comprehensive manual, includes an introduction to cholera and cholera vaccine, and walks readers through how to mobilize communities, prepare for, conduct, supervise, and monitor vaccination campaigns. We’ve also included images and figures that can also serve as training aids as well as worksheets to be filled out by the reader for adaptation to their context.  Additionally, several print-ready tools are provided as annexes to assist in implementing, monitoring and supervision of vaccination campaigns. Below, I’ve provided a synopsis of each chapter to provide you with more information about what you can expect to find in the manual. 

 
1) Introduction: Here you can find not only the purpose of the manual and how it’s supposed to be used but also other key resources for OCV.
 
A visual depiction of how to open the Shanchol vaccine vial. Available in chapter 7 of the Manual.

A visual depiction of how to open the Shanchol vaccine vial. Available in chapter 7 of the Manual. 

 
2) Background on cholera: This section contains a review of cholera, including transmission, clinical characteristics, who is at risk for the disease, and information on preventing, treating, and controlling cholera.
 
3) Information on OCV: This chapter highlights general information and the characteristics of OCVs currently available through the global stockpile. It also covers safety of the vaccine and its use among pregnant women. 
 
4) How OCV is used: This chapter contains information on the objectives of cholera vaccination and different types of campaigns, target populations, delivery strategies/sites, and key information about planning the campaign. 
 
5) Integrating cholera vaccination with other interventions: This portion provides practical tips and examples of how cholera vaccination can be administered in coordination with other cholera control measures. 
 
6) Educating and mobilizing a community for a vaccination campaign: This chapter discusses key messages to promote health care-seeking during an outbreak and ways to spread the word. It also provides an example from Guinea on how a simple communication program successfully spread the word about a reactive cholera vaccination campaign. 
 
7) Preparing for and conducting the vaccination campaign: This chapter outlines how to identify and organize vaccination sites, schedule campaigns, and form vaccination teams. It also dives into proper storing and transport of the vaccine, screening, recording, communication, and safe vaccine and waste handling.
 
8) Supervising and monitoring the campaign: This chapter addresses supervision, adverse events following immunization and how to estimate vaccination coverage from administrative data. 
 
9) Annexes: In the annexes, you’ll find an example vaccination card with key prevention messages, several vaccination tally sheets, a daily logistic supply and return form, a supervisor checklist, and a daily reporting form. Most of the annexes are also available in French. 
 
If you use the Manual for OCV campaigns or any other resources in the StopCholera Toolkit, we would love to hear about your experience and suggestions.