ITANAGAR: Concerned over the large number of children dying of measles every year, theCentre has launched a massive anti-measles vaccination drive. More than 13 crore children are expected to be covered under this Measles Catch-up Campaign, irrespective of their previousmeasles vaccination status.
The vaccination programme has been launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,with support from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). It will target childrenaged up to 10 years and will be carried out in primary schools. The drive will be focus on 14 States where the routine immunisation coverage is less than 80 per cent.
The HRD Ministry has written to the State Education Departments to set up a State SteeringCommittee for implementing the campaign , which will, through a nodal officer, collaborate withthe principals and guardians of private and government schools for implementing the campaign.They will provide a list of the schools and of students enrolled in these schools.
Measles is a highly infectious disease which is contracted by children with low immunity andcan cause acute respiratory problems, diarrhoea, and pneumonia. The disease can also resultin disabilities such as visual impairment. While India has made significant improvement inreducing child mortality due to immunisation coverage, measles continues to remain a majorcause of death among children, claiming between 50,000 to 1,00,000 lives every year.
Measles can be prevented by a single dose of vaccine if it is administered when the child isbetween 9 to 12 months, but only 69 per cent of children in the country are protected against thisdisease in the country. The campaign offers an opportunity to the children to get immunised,particularly those who have been left out earlier.
