In an important development, the medical health and family welfare, government of India has included Rota virus vaccine in the regular immunization programme in Uttarakhand. As of now, the Rota virus vaccine is being administered in the children of 11 states. On Tuesday, a two day training programme for the health officers of Garhwal region started in Dehradun. For Kumoan, the workshop would be held on July 3 .
In the workshop, experts informed that diarrhea triggered by Rota virus is fatal and vaccination is the only solution.
Addressing the workshop, the director National Health Mission (NHM), Dr Anjali Nautiyal said that the rota virus vaccine would be administered along the pentavalent vaccine in the children below one year of age. She informed that diarrhea is one of the major causes of death in the children below five years of age and 40 percent of the diarrhea affected children are infected by the Rota virus.
Terming inclusion of Rota virus vaccine in the regular immunization as appreciable, state immunization officer, Dr Saroj Naithani said that the vaccine is administered orally like the polio vaccine. She said that at present the vaccine is administered in private clinics and hospitals and the parents have shell out Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 for it but now the health department would provide this vaccine free of cost. Dr Naithani claimed that child mortality can be reduced by 74 percent by rota vaccine.