1.45 crore kids vaccinated for measles rubella, claims government

As on Tuesday, the programme that was originally scheduled to end on February 28 and was extended till March 15, had covered 1.4 crore children across the state, said Dr K Kolandaisamy, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. 

He added, “We have covered as many as 1.4 crore children till Tuesday (March 14) and we hope to add around five to six more lakhs to the total by March 15.” Dr Kolandaisamy also said that the remaining will be covered in the mop up in a few weeks. “We have been receiving calls from people, who haven’t been able to get the vaccination done for their children due to one reason or the other. They will be covered in the mop up and in routine immunisation as well,” he said. 

A spate of rumours had marred the vaccination programme campaign that has been initiated in four other states, Karnataka, Goa, Puducherry and Lakshadweep, apart from Tamil Nadu. “However, we held one on one meetings with parents in various parts of the state to ensure that the unfounded fears and doubts were dispelled,” said Kolandaisamy. 

The Measles-Rubella campaign is part of global efforts to reduce illness and deaths due to measles and rubella or CRS in the country. India resolved to eliminate measles and control rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) by 2020. 

The state government hoped to achieve 100 percent target by the end of the drive. The combination vaccine will replace the existing measles vaccine for children above 9 months and they will receive another dose before they turn 2.