Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Following the slogan ‘Indore Rahega No. 1’, health department officials achieved the highest number of kids with the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine among four districts including Bhopal, Narmadapuram, and Sagar.
The government has been running a campaign in these districts as the pilot project for last one month to vaccinate the kids of age between 1 and 15 years.
The campaign was started on February 27 and over 117081 kids have been vaccinated in Indore till March 26, followed by Sagar with 89861 kids being vaccinated.
The state’s capital Bhopal stands third with achieving the target of 72039 kids and Narmadapuram with 71856 kids of the targeted age group.
It is the second phase mega vaccination campaign against the deadly vector borne disease as the first phase of campaign was organised in Raisen and Vidisha in 2023.
10% target achieved in a month, over 1.17 lakh kids vaccinated
District health officials could reach over 1.17 lakh kids of aged between one year and 15 years and vaccinated them against Japanese Encephalitis in a month. The vaccination drive was started in four districts of the state simultaneously in Indore, Bhopal, Sagar and Narmadapuram on February 27.
According to district immunisation officer Dr Tarun Gupta, they have a target of 12.24 lakh kids of the said age group in Indore.“We have vaccinated over 1.17 lakh kids in a week at anganwadis, health centres, and by conducting camps. We will intensify the activities soon by collaborating with schools,” Dr Gupta said.
The disease is mosquito-borne and is transmitted from birds and pigs through mosquitoes. This is not a human-to-human infection.
The safest way to avoid this viral disease is vaccination. Initially, vaccination will be done at the community level at all the vaccination centres and then the vaccine will be added to the regular vaccination schedule. Earlier, children were protected from 11 diseases through vaccination, which will now increase to 12 diseases.
Good response even after summer holidays
Dr Gupta claimed that they are getting good response to the campaign even after the summer holidays have started as many parents are reaching the health centres to get their wards inoculated. “Over 3,000-5,000 kids are being vaccinated at the health centres on every Tuesday and Friday. We are also conducting campaigns in societies and groups to motivate people to get the dose,” he said.
Dr Gupta also added that they are expecting a better response to the campaign after the schools reopen in April and June. “We will run special campaigns at the schools and are expecting to achieve the target in a couple of months after the new session starts,” he added.
