Health Authorities To Launch “MR Vaccine” Drive From August In Hyd: The health authorities have unveiled its plans to launch a massive Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccine drive in Hyderabad.
The vaccine drive will be the first time in the State, aimed at covering close to 90 lakh children, between August and September. The MR vaccine administration and awareness drive, which is a part of the National Measles Elimination and Rubella Control Programme of the Centre, will be taken up between August 17 and September 25 and will cover children from 9 months to 15 years of age.
The health authorities on Friday said that all children would be covered during the month-long drive, irrespective of whether children and adolescents between the age group of 9 months and 15 years were given MMR vaccine earlier.
Tamil Nadu, Goa, Puducherry, and Lakshwadeep had participated in the first phase of the MR vaccine drive which was launched earlier this year. In South India, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, are the States included in the second phase of the MR vaccine.
Health and Family Welfare, Commissioner, Vakati Karuna, said “This is a mega vaccination programme and for the last three months we have been preparing ground for the launch of the drive. Unlike polio vaccines that are administered in the oral form, MR vaccines come in the form of injections. A lot of care has been taken to maintain the cold-chain management.”
The officials said, already, close to one crore vaccines had arrived and 50% of the stock had already been distributed to the districts. The authorities have reached out to all private practitioners, bodies representing doctors, and educational institutions to make the MR vaccination effective. Moreover, the officials are estimating that 60 lakh children can be administered the MR vaccine in schools and colleges alone.
In private practice, MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine is already prescribed by doctors in Hyderabad and elsewhere. However, this is for the first time that the State and Union Governments are getting involved in administration of MR vaccine to children in the State. Once the month-long administration drive of MR vaccine concludes, it will become a part of the routine immunization programme, which is administered in government hospitals.
The health officials said that once large numbers of children were administered the MR vaccine, over a period of time the entire population would develop immunity to measles. Keeping this in mind, authorities were aiming to administer the vaccine to a whopping 90 lakh children in a month.
SUPRAJA
