As there has been misconception about the ongoing measles and rubella vaccination programme, Collector S. Natarajan addressed heads of government and private schools in the district and asked them to remove the apprehension in the minds of the general public and students.
Addressing the heads of schools at Syed Ammal Higher Secondary School here on Monday, the Collector called upon them to sensitise the students on the importance of the vaccination, which was hitherto available only in private clinics and which was being offered free by the government.
After the false propaganda in the social media, there has been reluctance on the part of the parents in administering the vaccine to their wards, he said and urged the heads of schools to educate the children that the vaccination was 100 % safe.
All children from nine months to 15 years should be fully covered under the programme, he said adding the vaccination programme was launched on February 6 and will go on till February 28. Deputy Director of health Bavani Uma Devi and Chief Educational Officer K Jayakannu were present in the meeting.
Eradicating seemai karuvelam
The Collector also called upon the heads of the schools to educate the students on the need for eradicating seemai karuvelam trees in the district. Acting on the orders of the Madurai bench of Madras High court, the district administration had already launched a massive eradication programme, he said.
Later, the Collector flagged off a seemai karuvelam eradication awareness rally taken out by the students of Syed Ammal Engineering College at Aranmanai.
Taking part in the rally, the Collector called upon the people to voluntarily remove the trees from private lands. The district administration could free the district from the harmful trees only with the cooperation of the general public, he added. Students carried placards conveying messages about the ill-effects of the harmful trees.
