Bhubaneswar: The state government will launch a special vaccination drive in 10 select districts of the state under Mission Indradhanush (MI) from July 16.
The decision was taken at a meeting of state-level task force on immunisation presided over by Health Secretary Pramod Kumar Meherda. The programme will be launched in Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada and Nabarangpur.
He said that a vaccination programme would be carried out for seven days each month apart from the regular vaccination day, Sunday, and other holidays.
The vaccination drive will be conducted in three phases. While the first phase would start July 16, the second and third phases would begin August 13 and September 10 respectively, Meherda added.
Children of up to two years of age and pregnant women, who were left out of the regular vaccination programme, will be covered during the campaign.
Launched in December 2014, Mission Indradhanush was designed as a booster vaccination programme in 201 districts with low immunisation coverage to ensure that all children under the age of two and pregnant women are fully immunised against seven life-threatening diseases — tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles.
The Accountability Test
By Dilip Cherian For a service that has perfected the art of surviving governments, political regimes, and the occasional scandal,...
Read moreDetails
