Centre starts Pentavalent Vaccine programme in high-risk areas

May 4, 2013

With an aim to expand and promote the reach of vaccination, the Union Government has kicked off its four-week special immunization programme in high-risk areas across the nation. The vaccines are being provided free of cost aimed at reaching every child.

Full immunization prevents approximately 4 lakh deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in the under-five category every year.
Close to 75 lakh children miss childhood vaccinations each year.
On a global scale, every fifth child is not immunized.

What is Pentavalent Vaccine?
India had introduced the Pentavalent vaccine expansion in 2011 in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It has now expanded to some other states as well.
Pentavalent vaccine is given to protect children from five diseases:

Hib pneumonia and Hib meningitis (Hib = Haemophilus influenzae type b)
Diphtheria
Pertussis
Tetanus
Hepatitis B

India’s Immunization Programme:
Government of India has been running Universal Immunization Programme since 1985 which is currently one of the key areas under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)since 2005. The program consists of vaccination for seven diseases:–

Tuberculosis
Diphtheria
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Tetanus
Poliomyelitis
Measles
Hepatitis B

India had declared year 2012-13 as the ‘Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization’.
Objective of this campaign: To improve full immunization coverage and reach all children, particularly in remote, inaccessible and backward areas as well as in urban slums. The present full immunization coverage of children is 61%.

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