Increasing number of people ensuring that their children have the mandatory vaccinations is said to have helped bring down the number of child death cases because of vaccination-preventable diseases.
Several efforts have been taken by the government, associations, and paediatricians to ensure that the children have the vaccinations.
According to paediatrician Neminadhan, who is also the former national executive board member of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), the academy launched a system five years ago to send vaccination alerts to parents who register their mobile number on 566778, with details of their child’s name and date of birth. Now, nearly one lakh people have registered for this free service and vaccination rate has increased.
He says that two million children under the age of five years die just because of vaccination-preventable diseases and this is mainly because of lack of awareness among parents. A text reminder is sent to parents till the child is 12 years old, reminding them about the vaccinations.
P.S. Chandrasekar, a paediatrician at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, says that about 200 people come to the hospital for vaccination ever day and the number of dropouts is less than five per cent.
S. Velmurugan, another paediatrician, says the government plays a vital role in bringing awareness about vaccination for children in the rural areas.
Efforts have been taken to ensure that every child in a village gets the mandatory vaccinations.
Two factors that will help bring down the death rate of children are better hygiene and awareness on vaccination.
(Reporting by
B. Adhitya and Aadithya Ramakrishnan)
