The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign, scheduled to end on February 28, has been extended up to March 14. The Health Department, which focussed on children in schools, has started now set up kiosks at select hospitals, besides anganwadis and small schools throughout Vellore district.
According to officials of the Health Department, 4.56 lakh children have so far been covered under the campaign as against the target of 9.8 lakh children in the age group of nine months to 15 years in the district. The campaign began on February 6, covering children in all schools.
“Now, we have started to administer the vaccine for children who missed the dose in schools. The vaccination will be administered at these 10 places till March 14,” an official said.
The kiosks have been set up at Government Vellore Medical College Hospital, Adukkamparai, Government Pentland Hospital, government hospitals at Tirupattur, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Walajah and Arakkonam and also in Christian Medical College (CMC) is one of the 10 places selected for the vaccination camp, he added.
Collector S.A. Raman visited the vaccination camp at CMC on Saturday. “Anganwadi staff are carrying out door-to-door mobilisation for the vaccination drive. They would also check if children have missed the dose by checking for the ink mark on fingers. Second-level officers will take up random checks,” he added.
National and international observers have been visiting the district to keep a tab on the vaccination campaign. This included two observers from UNICEF and two observers from the World Health Organisation, he said.
Mr. Raman, in a press release, said that as the MR vaccination campaign had been extended, the Pulse Polio immunisation campaign has been postponed to April.
