T.N. has got 70,000 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines

The first round of inoculation is under way at the Institute of Child Health

With Tamil Nadu receiving 70,000 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine so far, the first round of vaccination is under way, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Saturday.

He inspected the vaccination at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore. According to a release, he said that every year, 12 lakh children aged below five died of such diseases as pneumonia and meningitis in the country.

Under the Universal Immunisation Programme, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programme was launched in various States in the last two years. There were a total of 9,23,000 children aged below five in Tamil Nadu, he said. A decision on administering the vaccine to children aged above five would be taken on the basis of the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research. The vaccine would be administered every day at the Institute of Child Health, he said.

The Minister said that during the DMK’s previous government, a separate hospital for treating children with muscular dystrophy was started at Thousand Lights, Chennai. There were a total of 2,000 children with muscular dystrophy in the State, including 200 in Chennai.

Mr. Subramanian said an inspection of the hospital would be conducted in a few days to look into its expansion and upgrade.

Minister’s gesture

Mr. Subramanian offered his room at the MLA Hostel to the parents of a five-year-old girl who is undergoing treatment at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children after accidentally consuming a chemical laundry bleach.

The couple from Tirunelveli district were residing on the hospital campus. The child should undergo treatment for a month. So, the Minister offered his room to them and arranged for food during their stay.