Tamil Nadu’s overall immunisation coverage has crossed 95%. Every year, 9.15 lakh children and 10 lakh pregnant women are covered under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), and 3.2 crore vaccines worth nearly ₹10 crore are provided in the State, according to the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine.
Under the UIP, launched in 1985, 11 vaccines were administered to children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. Reiterating the importance of immunisation in line with World Immunisation Day on Friday, the directorate said all pregnant women and children should get vaccinated as per the National Immunisation Schedule. Vaccines were available for free in all government health facilities to prevent diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, polio, measles, rubella, rotavirus and pneumococcal pneumonia, according to a release from the directorate’s immunisation section.
Vaccination was available on all days of the week in government medical college hospitals and government hospitals, and administered every Wednesday in primary health centres. For pregnant women, the first dose of Td (Tetanus and adult diphtheria) was administered on registration of pregnancy and the second dose a month later. As many as 20 vaccine doses were administered within a year of birth for children; four doses for children aged under two; one for children aged five to six; and one each for children aged 10 and 16.
The immunisation section of DPH implements special programmes such as intensive pulse polio immunisation, Mission Indradhanush 5.0, Hepatitis B vaccine for healthcare workers and COVID-19 vaccinations. So far, nearly 12.75 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered, achieving a first dose coverage of 96.62% and a second dose coverage of 90.32% in persons aged above 12.
The directorate said the State’s overall immunisation coverage crossed 95% due to the efforts of public health personnel. All vaccines were stored at 2,691 cold storage facilities such as State Vaccine Store, Regional Vaccine Store and District Vaccine Store
Published - November 11, 2023 01:00 am IST
