Kozhikode is among the six high-priority districts in the State for the implementation of the national vaccination drive ‘Indradhanush 5.0’, the first phase of which was launched on Monday.
The programme is to provide vaccination for children aged up to five and pregnant women to prevent eight life-threatening diseases. The diseases are children’s tuberculosis, hepatitis B, polio myelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, diarrhoea, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, Japanese Encephalitis, Haemophilus Influenza B. Children who are either not vaccinated or partially vaccinated will be covered in the drive. In Kerala, districts such as Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Kasaragod, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram have been declared high-priority areas.
According to Health department sources, routine immunisation had taken a hit during the pandemic period when hospital visits were discouraged. Due to this, many children were left out of the vaccination process. Many others did not get the initial doses after delivery. Some children were found to have been dropped out after getting early doses. There are others who could not be tracked by the Health volunteers.
Officials claimed that vaccine hesitancy is also playing out among some parents as the injections could lead to adverse reactions such as fever. Media reports about adverse reactions are also getting amplified through social media, forcing sceptical parents to keep away from the procedure. A few people are against vaccines too.
A major consequence of this, the doctors claim, is the return of vaccine-preventable diseases. A senior doctor at the Government General Hospital, Kozhikode, says that at least five severe cases of measles were reported in one month at the facility. All the five children had to be hospitalised and treated.
In Kozhikode district, there are 2,424 pregnant women, 7,861 children aged up to two, and 5,964 children in the 2-5 age group who need to be covered. The health officials claim that vaccine hesitancy is found to be high in places such as Valayam and Kuttiyadi. The authorities are also planning to cover slums and the gypsy population.
The first phase of the drive will be from August 7 to August 12; second phase would be between September 11 to September 16; and the third phase from October 9 to October 14.
Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip opened the district-level launch of the scheme at the Government Hospital for Women and Children at Kottaparamba in the city.