Haryana Government on Monday launched the Rotavirus and Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV) vaccination campaign in the state.
With this, Haryana has become the fourth state in the country to include Rotavirus among routine vaccinations. The other three States are Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh.
The State Health Minister Anil Vij launched the campaign by administering anti-Rotavirus drops to five children at Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantt.
The Health Minister said that the Rotavirus vaccine, which was administered to children at the age of six months, 10 months and 14 months, was available in the market for about Rs 3,000. However, the Health Department would provide this vaccine to about six lakh children in the state free of cost.
He said that Rotavirus infection could cause severe diarrhoea in children. This vaccination would help reduce the mortality rate in children.
He said that a scheme to launch a free vaccination campaign for protection from pneumonia was also under consideration of the State Government.
Vij said that the World Health Organisation had declared India as a Polio-free country. The administration of the IPV vaccine would protect children from Polio and administration of Polio drops would not be required in future, he added.
Notably, the infant mortality rate (IMR) in Haryana stood at 41 in 2013, exceeding the national average of 40.
IMR is defined as the number of infants’ death (mortality within one year of birth) per thousand live births.
The latest three-dose vaccine will play a crucial role in preventing the diarrhea due to rotavirus, which is responsible for large number of infant deaths.
As per the officials of Haryana Health Department, each year diarrhaea caused by rotavirus kills nearly 2000 children under the age of five years in the state.
The rotavirus, which is one of the most common causes of diarrhoea leads to over 10 lakh hospitalisations and kills nearly 80,000 children under the age of five every year in the country.