Misconception bogey scares parents, hits anti-measles drive

BAHRAICH: To eliminate measles and control rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CSR) the district administration had set a target of vaccinating 13,33,758 children between the age group of 9 months and 15 years. But after 17 days of the drive, only 4,86,148 children have been covered under the drive.

Why the measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign, launched by the ministry of health and family welfare, is not having the desired results, is not far to see.

The health department has been ineffective in eradicating misconceptions about the vaccination, here in the district. A large number of parents avoid sending their wards to school on vaccination day, as they fear that the MR vaccine may cause a disorder or uneasiness among their children.

On Thursday, several red spots erupted on the hand on which Insha Hussain, 9, daughter of Tahir Hussain, was administered the MR vaccine at the Seventh Day Adventist Inter College. The matter was reported to chief medical officer AK Pandey, who immediately sent a team of doctors to Hussain’s house.

Hussain alleged that there must be a problem in the vaccine, as before his daughter, several students in Shrawasti had also taken ill after being vaccinated with MR.

However, Dr Parvez Alam, who examined Insha, said that the reaction of the child’s body is a natural phenomenon, though it is also true that symptoms don’t manifest themselves in all children who receive the vaccination. He said that in some children, as in Insha’s case, the

live virus present in the vaccine may cause the eruptions like these, adding that there was nothing to be worried or alarmed about.

Zakat Foundation of India executive member Syed Shafat Ali said that he was informed by his daughter’s school (Barrows Blue Bells) that the school was not liable for any reaction the vaccine may have on his child.

He said that in such a situation, when the school administration washes its hands off any responsibility, why must parents be expected to get their wards vaccinated? A similar notice was circulated by Saint Norbert School, said Uzma, whose wards study there.

Meanwhile, district inspector of schools Rajendra Pandey has issued a show-cause notice against five Inter colleges where students’ attendance was found negligible on the day of vaccina-

tion. In the first phase of the drive, the district administration had targeted all the schools of the district. But owing to fear and misconception of the vaccine, parents refrain from sending their wards to school on the date of vaccination.

Chief medical officer (CMO) AK Pandey said that there was nothing wrong with the vaccine. He said that the vaccine is medically tested and there was nothing harmful in the vaccine. He further said that the drive is new but the vaccine has been administered in India and abroad for the last 25 years.

On being asked about the uneasiness some students reported in the district, the CMO said there was nothing serious in any of the matters. Pandey said that the drive will be continued till the target of the department is reached.