The Health authorities will begin house visits from next week with District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirullah making the first few visits to start the campaign for 100% immunisation coverage.
The Health Department has identified 850 unimmunised and partially immunised children under five years who could fall prey to deadly diseases like diphtheria.
Mathews Numpelil, District Manager, National Health Mission, told The Hindu that panchayats were ready with the list of houses identified for house visits by a team comprising an official each from the district administration, Health and Revenue departments.
The district administration is planning to achieve 100% coverage by creating awareness among individuals who are staying away from immunisation because of certain concepts and beliefs.
The district’s herd immunity was said to be affected because of the low immunisation coverage in recent times. While Health officials state that the district has over 88% coverage, unofficial figures say the coverage is about 82%. If the immunisation coverage is over 90%, herd immunity is likely to protect even unimmunised and partially immunised people.
The four medical colleges in the district are in the process of conducting a zone-wise survey in the district on immunisation coverage. Led by Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, the medical colleges — Government Medical College, Ernakulam; Medical Mission College, Kolenchery; and Sree Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences — would be providing the technical support for the campaign, said Dr. Numpelil.
The Indian Association of Paediatrics is also part of the campaign providing training to select nurses in 65 private hospitals identified in the district. The training includes maintenance of cold-chain of vaccines, and methods of vaccinations.
