The first phase of Mission Indradhanush, an immunisation programme of the Union Ministry of Health, was launched in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts on Monday.
The project is aimed at ensuing full immunisation for children aged up to two and pregnant women.
This year, it is being implemented only in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts in Kerala.
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The drive will be conducted from the first Monday of every month for seven working days till March 2020.
Under the programme, training for health workers, coordination meetings of government officials, and review meetings will be conducted. The help of religious leaders, grama panchayats, and staff under the Integrated Child Development Services and the departments of Scheduled Tribes, Ayurveda and Homeo will be sought. Those who are not fully vaccinated or are partially vaccinated will be covered under the drive. In Wayanad, speaking after inaugurating the programme, District Collector Adeela Abdulla said that all should vaccinate their children to save them from vaccine-preventable diseases.
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Some parents showed reluctance to provide the vaccines to their children owing to social taboos and doubts about vaccination, Ms. Adeela, who inaugurated the programme by getting her one-year-old child Hussam Rabeeh vaccinated against measles, said.
“I took the initiative to sensitise people, especially a particular section of people, that vaccination will not cause any harm to their children”, Ms. Adeela told The Hindu .
“As a physician, I believe that it is my duty to sensitise the public on the significance of administering vaccines to children on time”, she said.
The aim of Mission Indradhanush was to expand immunisation coverage to all children across India by 2020, R. Renuka, District Medical Officer, Wayanad, said.
The department had chalked out the programme in 2017 but it was postponed owing to the deluge, Dr. Renuka said.
The drive would continue for the next four consecutive months in the district, she said. The target was to immunise all children against the seven vaccine-preventable diseases of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, childhood tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis B, and measles, Dr. Renuka said.