The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination drive is in full swing in Chittoor district. Over 35,000 persons were covered on May 16 and 23, and the drive will continue for the next five months. The total target in the district is set at 2.86 lakh to cover TB patients and their family members, chain-smokers, those with poor immunity levels, those above 60, and those with a poor BMI of below 18.
District Immunization Officer Dr. P. Ravi Raju, who launched the second weekly drive at Karveti Nagaram mandal headquarters on Thursday, May 23, said that the BCG vaccination drive was being received with an overwhelming response from the target group. “We hope to achieve 100% results of totally eradicating the TB threat perception by 2025,” Dr. Ravi Raju said.
The DIO said that the District Medical and Health Department had deployed all the ANMs and Asha workers to sensitize the target group, particularly the elderly persons, to visit the village health clinics, urban and rural health centres, and village and ward secretariats to get vaccinated. “Going by the world health standards, it is a proven thing that the BCG vaccination worked as one of the best deterrents to the TB prevalence. The medical and paramedical staff were also informed to dispel the fears among the people about the BCG vaccination,” Dr. Ravi Raju said.
The official said that diabetic patients and people with poor immunity levels, along with the close contacts of the TB patients, were most vulnerable to contracting TB. As such, the DIO also appealed to the field staff to focus on this segment of the target group. He said that the BCG vaccination facility is available at all 575 village health clinics, nine TB Centers, sub-centers, and secretariats.
