VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) drive. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that immunisation is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions for the protection of children from serious health conditions. PCV is a safe and effective vaccine and is administered in three doses at the age of 6 weeks, 14 weeks, and 40 weeks, he said and directed the officials to ensure minimum wastage and maximum usage of the vaccine.
The vaccination programme is targeted for the prevention of pneumonia deaths in children, which is a major cause of infant and child mortality. So far the government has been providing nine types of vaccines to children, and with PCV a total of 10 types of vaccines are being given to children across the State.