77% kids in J&K below 5 yrs didn’t get vaccines on time amid lockdown

JAMMU:The lockdown enforced to thwart the spread of Covid-19 has disrupted immunisation services in Jammu and Kashmir has impacted approximately 77% of children in the age group of 1-5.

In simple terms, seven in every 10 children were denied access to immunisation on time – reveals an online rapid survey conducted by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY). The study, named ‘Rapid Online Perception Study about the effects of Covid-19 on children’, was conducted during the first and second phases of lockdown based on responses of parents/primary caregivers from all across the country, including Jammu and Kashmir.

A total of 387 respondents from J&K participated in the survey.

Explaining the relevance and imperativeness of the study, Soha Moitra, regional director, CRY (North) said, “As immunisation programmes witnessed a major setback during the lockdown across the country, the results of the survey across 23 states and Union territories found nearly 50% of parents with children below five years of age unable to access immunisation services. The figure was considerably high in J&K with 77.14% children below five years unable to get immunisation services.”

According to the study, in J&K, nearly 35% of the respondents reported that their children had not received medical help during the lockdown, resulting in difficulties to cope with their children’s illnesses.

The survey also revealed that in only 27.62% households in the UT, school-going children could access online classes on a regular basis, the national figures are equally worrying with children of barely 41% household could access online classes – thus raising a serious question about the justification of virtual classrooms as an alternative of school education.