BHUBANESWAR: To combat high child mortality and a heavy out-of-pocket expenditure which hurts the poor, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday rolled out the Rotavirus vaccine here at Bhubaneswar. Union Minister JP Nadda formally introduced the vaccine by administrating it to children at a function.
The indigenously prepared vaccine will be free and part of Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) of the country. “The Rotavirus vaccine rollout is not a routine programme. It is a historic moment in India’s immunisation programme,” Nadda said at the national launch of the vaccine.
In the first phase, the vaccine would be available in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh before being expanded to the entire country in a phased manner.
Rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhoea, claims 80,000 children every year while nine lakh children seek hospitalisation. On an average, at least 32.7 lakh severe diarrhoea cases are received in outpatient departments annually. In such a scenario, Nadda said introduction of Rotavirus vaccine holds tremendous significance.
“We have achieved a new milestone towards coverage of full immunisation aimed at reducing child mortality,” Nadda said adding that strengthening routine immunisation is an essential investment in India’s children.
Under Mission Indradhanush, which was launched in December 2014 to fully immunise 89 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, the Union Minister said a whopping 1.42 crore children and 36.7 lakh women were successfully covered through 20 lakh immunisation sessions between April 2015 and January 2016. In one year, the vaccination and immunisation increased by six to seven per cent, he added.
The gains have led to a strengthened health system laying platform for introduction of new vaccine. Three more new vaccines are also being introduced as part of UIP which include the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Measles Rubella vaccine and adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine. UIP will now provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases to 27 million children annually. IPV has been introduced in six States from November last year to provide double protection against Polio.
The Rotavirus vaccine was developed indigenously, under PPP by Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said the Rotavirus vaccine is a major initiative by the Centre and would help Odisha address the issues of IMR.
High child mortality is not a political issue but a matter of social concern. “Odisha Government has to take forward the Jamuna Mani Movement if it wants to address such problems,” he said referring to the ASHA network.
Pradhan also informed that the Centre will set up 3,000 Jana Aushadhi centres across the country and each district will have at least five such stores. State Health and Family Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi said the vaccine will have a tremendous impact in the State which has adopted a multi-pronged approach towards immunisation.
Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Bhanu Pratap Sharma, Mission Director of NHM CK Mishra and Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department Arti Ahuja also spoke.