Pneumococcal vaccine for kids was delayed in AIADMK regime: Ma Su

State Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Thursday accused the previous AIADMK regime of delaying the administration of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to children below five years for three years.

Subramanian said the Union government advised the then AIADMK regime to administer pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to children below five years in the State in 2017. The vaccine is administered to children at 1.5 months, 3.5 months and nine months to protect them from Pneumonia and brain fever, which account for 15.9% per cent of casualties among children. “Each dose would cost Rs 4,000. Together, a parent would require Rs 12,000 to fully vaccinate a child. The AIADMK regime did not start it. As soon as the DMK returned to power, it was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister,

who immediately advised us to start it,” the Minister told the House. The vaccination programme was launched at Poonamallee on July 13. As of date, about 55,331 children below five years of age have been administered pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in the State, Subramanian told the House.

Drawing a parallel between COVID vaccination in the two regimes, the Health Minister said, from January 16 to May 16, about 63.28 lakh doses were administered at the rate of 61,441 doses per day in 103 days of the AIADMK regime, but 2.69 crore doses have been administered at the rate of 2.11 lakh per day in the 117 days of the DMK regime. From being the State which wasted most number of vaccine doses (4 per cent) in May first week in the AIADMK regime, the State has now become the one to administer most additional vaccine doses last week, Subramanian added.