NEW DELHI: After back-to-back campaigns to vaccinate the masses against Covid-19, the city government is back to focus on the immunisation programme for children in the 0-5 age group which remained unattended because of Covid.
Teams have been appointed for an immunisation campaign to cater to seven districts in Delhi under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme. According to health officials, three rounds of vaccination drives will be conducted. The first round started in March, the second in April and the third will be conducted in May.
“This is for those districts where routine immunisation had reduced due to Covid-19,” said an official.
The official said that during the three waves of pandemic, people were scared to step out, even the anganwadi workers also focussed on the containment zones, Covid awareness and the inoculation drive later because of which the children from 0-5 age group suffered.
“During Covid-19 the regular vaccinations were faltering and many children left out but gradually the curbs have been relaxed and as soon as we got the opportunity, we shot up the process and managed more vaccinations,” said the official.
“During Covid-19, the immunisation drive for 0-5 years of age slipped below 80 per cent in Delhi,” the official said. “While the polio vaccines were being given, other vaccines against tetanus and measles suffered,” he said. or some days, it was also hampered due to the strike by anganwadi workers and helpers.
Currently, the government is providing vaccination free of cost against vaccine-preventable diseases including diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, a severe form of childhood tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia (Haemophilus influenzae type B infections), Japanese encephalitis (JE) in JE endemic districts with the introduction of newer vaccines such as rotavirus vaccine, IPV, adult JE vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR) vaccine in UIP/national immunisation programme.