‘Measles & rubella vax drive: Over 2.18 cr kids jabbed so far’

KOLKATA: The state Health department has brought more than 94 per cent of the children in the target group under the coverage of measles and rubella vaccination drive. More than 2.18 crore children have been vaccinated so far.

On an average daily basis, the Health department has been vaccinating more than 8000 to 10,000 children. The Health department has been facing difficulties in conducting the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination drive in some private schools in the city.

According to sources, around 119-121 private hospitals are not allowing health personnel to carry out the vaccination drive.

Many of the guardians of the patients are skeptical about the vaccination drive. Some schools are not allowing the health personnel to enter their premises. In case of government schools, the vaccination drive is being carried out smoothly.

The state government has directed all the districts to increase the number of vaccination centres for expediting the measles and rubella vaccination drive. Various civic bodies are carrying out awareness drives among the people where the vaccination rate had been low in the previous years. Bengal had administered measles rubella vaccination doses on around 44 lakh children in the first three days of vaccination drive. There are certain pockets in Kolkata where the vaccination rate is low.

These places include Kidderpore, port areas, Entally and some parts of Park Circus. Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been undertaking campaigns in these areas to make people aware about the benefits of the vaccination.

The Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination programme took a hit in the past two years due to the Covid pandemic. As the Covid infection has been brought under control, the state health department emphasised carrying out a full-fledged campaign to cover the maximum number of children under the vaccination initiative.

The state government started a month-long vaccination programme against measles and rubella virus in all the primary, block and the district hospitals besides all the government and private-run schools in which

children from 9-months up to 15 years are getting vaccination at free- of-cost. The drive was recently extended.