It is now lungs care for the kids. A pneumococcal vaccine drive is on the anvil, said sources. A schedule has come for the training for this anti-pneumonia vaccination among the kids younger than two years of age.
District reproductive child health officer Anil Kumar Singh said the training for this vaccination is to be imparted and concluded by this month end.
He said the exact date of its launching is awaited but one can understand this vaccination is soon to kick start.
He said that they are doing routine vaccination every Thursday and Saturday and this too will be put in conveniently so as not to cause any more fuss.
Civil surgeon Palamu Anil Kumar Srivastav, who is a noted child specialist, said this vaccination is for the kids younger than two years of age. He said it is to save, protect and strengthen their lungs against pneumonia.
The Civil surgeon said he and his team sat with the officials of the community health centres in this regard and discussed things at length for a smooth take off of this anti-pneumonia drive among the kids.
Srivastava said this comes in three episodes of the vaccination. It is injectable and intra-muscular only.
District reproductive child health officer Anil Kumar Singh said the first dose is on a kid’s age of one and a half months.
The second dose is for three and a half months. Srivastav said the booster dose is to come in nine months. He said this vaccination is seen as a safeguard against meningitis and sepsis both as the kids are so prone and vulnerable to it.
As today everyone talks first about the side effects of the vaccination the district reproductive child health officer said it is minimal and one knows about it too like mild fever, redness at the injection site, rashness etc which is no issue of any major concern.
Medical sources said there are 80 different types of pneumonia but this pneumococcal vaccination protects one from 23 of them.
They said a kid can have this jab even if he has a mild cold and cough but for other morbidities doctor’s consultancy prior to this vaccination is a must.