After allowing a couple of deadlines to lapse, due to non availability of vaccine doses, the State is finally gearing itself to launch pentavalent vaccines for children in Tamil Nadu during November first week.
The Directorate of Public Health has now received confirmation that vaccine doses would be despatched in time for the State to launch its pilot project in November. Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the two States in the country chosen to implement the pentavalent vaccine programme, based on their better immunisation performance.
Delays in vaccine procurement by the external agency contributed to the postponement, according to health officials. GAVI had committed to providing the vaccines free of cost, and UNICEF promised to take up the task of procuring the vaccines and ensuring supply to Tamil Nadu and Kerala, according to sources.
While the total number of children who would be covered in a year with the pentavalent dose (covering five conditions – Diphtheria, Pertusis, Tetanus (DPT), Hepatitis B, and Hib (Haemophilius influenzae type b) would be 11.5 lakh, this year the pentavalent vaccine will not be given to those have already started on one dose of DPT. If the first dose of DPT and Polio has already been administered, then that will be continued as per the regular immunisation schedule.
RTI Activist K.V.Babu from Kerala shared his email communication from UNICEF with The Hindu . The message from the UNICEF is Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been allocated the fully liquid pentavalent vaccine in 10 dose vials. It is to be procured from the Serum Institute of India.
Meanwhile, ‘training of the trainers' programme for those involved in the immunisation has begun, and will be completed by the end of the month.
The staff will have to be given lessons on calculation of vaccine dose, interval between two doses, the technical aspects relating to the diseases and prevention, and logistic aspects, according to sources at the DPH.
