Punjab Government on Wednesday launched the ‘Rotavirus Vaccine’ under routine immunisation programme to control the diarrhoea cases among children.
The state Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, in his address on the occasion of state level function held to introduce Rotavirus Vaccine, said that Rotavirus is disease which causes 30-40 percent deaths (about 80,000) of children below the age of five years in our country in which 50 percent recorded deaths are of children below the age of one year.
“This vaccine will provide the health security to our children and also control the Infant Mortality Rate in the State,” he said.
Although, over the past few years, Punjab has already recorded remarkable reduction in the infant and under-five years mortality rate as compared to the national achievement, this immunisation will also play a major role in further reduction of this rate, he said.
Underscoring the targets achieved by the Health Department, Sidhu said that he was happy to announce that Punjab has the highest immunisation coverage in the country at 89.1 percent as per NFHS-4 and 95 percent as per HMIS 2018-19.
He assured that to further strengthen the immunisation programme for children, Health Department would take concrete steps to maintain this status and all vaccinations would be provided to each and every child of the state.
Sidhu said that this is also matter of pride for the Health Department that the Government Hospitals are accounting for the 90 percent of immunisation of children of Punjab under the strict guideline of Routine Immunisation Programme.
The cold chain of vaccination has been perfectly maintained by the department in all health centres and special training is being provided to Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and staff nurses to administer this vaccine.
Sidhu also announced that to strengthen the health services in Mohali City, three urban Community Health Centres would be established in Mohali.