District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla has called for coordinated action among all departments to ensure the success of the measles-rubella vaccination campaign.
He was presiding over a district-level meeting of representatives of various departments here on Saturday to coordinate the vaccination campaign and take stock of the preparations.
The campaign will get under way in the district on October 3 and aims to cover seven lakh children. The vaccine will be administered to all children in the age group between nine months and 15 years (Class X). It is aimed at the elimination of measles, which could even lead to the death of children, and, rubella, which could lead to various disabilities and more serious ailments in children.
The vaccines against the two diseases will be administered to children in a single dose so as to eliminate both the diseases by 2020. Workshops on the implementation of the campaign have been completed for people’s representatives and district-level officials in Health, Education, and Social Justice Departments.
The Collector has directed educational institutions to make necessary arrangements for the campaign. Various training programmes have already been completed and training in treatment protocol in the event of an emergency was given on Saturday.
The last round of training for those administering the vaccine will be held next week.
At present, children are being vaccinated against measles, which can lead to pneumonia, infection in the brain, low eyesight, on completion of nine months, and then again at the age of one-and-a-half years.
Though rubella is a relatively harmless disease, it could lead to congenital rubella syndrome in newborn babies if pregnant mothers are infected by the disease. It could lead to the death of the newborn, and could cause serious disabilities related to heart, eyesight and hearing.
