12 lakh kids missed immunisation shots because of lockdown
This makes them vulnerable to diseases and infections like measles, rotavirus, hepatitis B among others
LUCKNOW: The Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown has broken the immunisation cycle of more than 12 lakh children across Uttar Pradesh (UP), making them vulnerable to diseases and infections like measles, rotavirus, hepatitis B and others and putting their lives at risk.
On an average, UP sees 55 lakh births annually (health department data), which includes both those born in private as well as government hospitals. And of that number, more than 12 lakh children, whose vaccination was scheduled between March and mid-May, missed their shots following the lockdown.
Officials with the National Health Mission said until March 24, the rate of immunisation in UP was around 92 percent. But after March 24—the day when lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the programme too came to a standstill. The closure of OPDs, immunisation centres and the private clinics put further brakes on the immunisation exercise. “Generally, vaccines like Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and Hepatitis B — are given to newborns at the time of birth at the hospital itself. It is followed by another set of vaccines including—OPV, Pentavalent, Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV), fractional dose of Inactivated Polio Vaccine (fIPV), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) that is administered when the baby is six weeks old.
And it is followed by the doses at 10 weeks and 14 weeks, nine months, 12 months and so on,” explained former Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) UP vicepresident Ashutosh Verma.
Verma said it is mandatory to get the vaccination done on time in the first year of birth. If it is missed for any reason, a delay of two weeks is permissible but not more than that.
The ‘crisis situation’, however, has less affected newborns, since a majority of them get the doses of a set of few basic essential vaccines at the hospital itself soon after birth.
But for parents of 10-week, 14-week, nine-month and 12-month-old babies, it is a matter of grave concern. “My daughter was born on May 1, 2019. She was supposed to be vaccinated in the 12th month.
But following the lockdown, we didn’t have an option but to forego the vaccination,” said Vaibhav Nigam, a contractor by profession.
Nigam said he also tried to contact the doctor but he was told that the clinic is closed.
Another concerned parent, whose daughter was born on June 19, 2019, at St Joseph’s Hospital, Lucknow, said that following the lockdown, they had to skip the vaccination for Measles and Rubella, JE and PCVBooster that are administered in the ninth month. “There was no way out. The OPDs were lying closed, private clinics were shuttered, and above all, no one was allowed to move out of the houses.
Officials at the health department said that the vaccination in UP has resumed in May. National Health Mission general manager (immunisation) Ved Prakash said, “In UP, around 92% newborns were being vaccinated before lockdown. However, following the lockdown, we had to stop the immunisation drive.
Now that the drive has restarted, it will be ensured that the babies, whose immunisation cycle went awry during the lockdown, are covered in the drive. The drive will cover both urban as well as rural pockets in UP”.