The vaccination process against Measles and Rubella, two major child killers has hit a roadblock as the authorities have temporarily suspended giving vaccination against MR diseases in order to fulfill the target of 6 lakhs for the vaccination campaign that is scheduled to start on January 15.
According to official sources, the campaign has been suspended so that vaccinations that are given after the January 15 can also be counted in the target. People bringing their children to the JAH, KR Hospital and the District Hospital are being sent back saying that the vaccination will be given only after the 15th. This is despite the fact that these hospitals have stocks of vaccination in lakhs.
A target of 6 lakh vaccinations has been given for the first phase of the campaign that is scheduled to begin on the 15th of January. During the first phase 6 lakh children in the age group of 9 to 15 will be given the vaccination against MR diseases. The campaign will run in three phases during a 45 days period and is expected to cover all the children in the district.
According to sources in the District Administration the vaccination campaign will cover all schools, including those run by government and private individuals, Anganwadis, children’s homes and nurseries.
District Collector, Bharat Yadav on Tuesday convened a meeting of all concerned officials and gave instructions to make sure that all children in the prescribed age group are given the vaccination. He also asked the officials to make all arrangements at micro-level in their respective areas to make this very important campaign against the dreaded diseases a success.
The collector also posted on his Facebook wall a video of Amitabh Bachchan, the face for the MR vaccination campaign. Dispelling any misgivings about the vaccination, the collector in his post said that the vaccination is totally safe and appealed to the public to come forward to eradicate this child killer.