Rumours hamper progress of India’s immunisation drive
Rumours are the biggest hurdles to immunisation. A video claiming immunisation made children infertile and impotent went viral in Mewat in Haryana and forced the government to scrap its immunisation drive last month under Mission Indradhanush.
It is the NDA’s flagship programme that aims to raise routine immunisation coverage from the current 71% to more than 90% by 2020 by focusing on underserved areas.
In January, texts and audio clips shared on WhatsApp and Facebook urging parents not to get their children vaccinated against measles and rubella (German measles) in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka rocked the campaign to eliminate the disease that killed an estimated 49,200 children in India in 2015. India’s measles elimination programme in five states almost stopped before it started because of these rumours.
“Rumours by nature are not based on facts and dispelling them involves going on an information, education and communication overdrive at the grassroots level,” says Dr Pradeep Haldar, deputy commissioner immunisation, ministry of health and family welfare. “Despite the rumours, India eradicated polio. Even measlesrubella vaccine (MR-VAC) in five states — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Lakshwadeep on February 7 — got more than 95% coverage,” said Dr Haldar.
Efforts are on in Mewat to convince parents that vaccines save health and life. “In Mewat, we have involved religious and political leaders at the block and panchayat level and are simultaneously doing a headcount of children missed to ensure no one is during the next vaccination round from May 15-21,” said Amneet P Kumar, mission director, department of health and family welfare, Haryana.
Despite roadblocks, Mission Indradhanush is improving reach. More than 2.14 crore children and around 56 lakh pregnant women have been immunised since December 2014, with India’s routine immunisation coverage increasing by 5-7% over two years, compared to an average of 1% over the past decade, shows the Integrated Child Health & Immunization Survey.
“Despite its achievements, one child in India still loses his/ her life every minute due to a vaccine preventable disease,” writes India’s health and family welfare minister JP Nadda in HT. “We cannot let this happen.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas on Friday held his party leadership responsible for the defeat in the municipal election in Delhi and the assembly polls in Punjab and Goa last month.
In an interview to India Today TV, Vishwas said that instead of blaming the electronic voting machines (EVMs), the party should introspect. He alleged that the party seniors take decisions behind closed doors without any discussions.
“Gopal Rai was given charge of Delhi by Arvind Kejriwal. Nothing was discussed. The decision was told in the PAC (political affairs committee).”
Vishwas said that one of the main reasons behind the party’s humiliating defeat in MCD elections was that the party’s top brass had lost connect with grassroot workers. He pointed out that the party had drawbacks and an overhaul was necessary.
Vishwas has been a member of the party since its inception in 2012. HTC