COURTESY HT JULY 16

Haryana steps on the gas, boosts vaccination drive
Hitender Rao

hrao@hindustantimes.com

Chandigarh : Haryana was able to fully vaccinate about 50% of the eligible infants under the universal immunisation programme during the Covid-19 lockdown period in April.

The state, however, improved on its vaccination percentage in May and June by covering infants who could not be immunised earlier.

The universal immunisation programme is a key intervention for protection of children from life-threatening conditions.

National Health Mission (NHM) director Prabhjot Singh said about 40,000 to 45,000 infants are fully immunised every month.

Full immunisation for infants under the national programme means administering a dose of BCG vaccine, three doses of pentavalent vaccine, three doses of oral polio vaccine and one dose of measles-rubella vaccine before completion of one year of birth.

“In April, about 21,956 infants were fully immunised as outreach immunisation sessions in community settings were suspended due to Covid-19 lockdown.

About 70% beneficiaries get vaccinated during outreach sessions. However, we were able to continue facility based sessions,” Prabhjot said.

He said 41,245 infants were immunised in May despite zero immunisation sessions in containment and buffer zones.

Since vaccine administration was more in May as compared to June, data analysis shows that many infants who could not get vaccinated during April sought immunisation services in May, the NHM director said.

He said since many beneficiaries migrated to their hometowns, there was a decline in the routine immunisation coverage. Also, people tried to avoid visiting health facilities due to fear of infection and due to the lockdown, many were unable to reach health facilities, he added.

Officials said the state has also achieved more than 92% immunisation against the target of 5.75 lakh beneficiaries set by the Centre for 2019-20. We have improved our dropout rate significantly and there has also been a remarkable improvement in availability of vaccines at session sites, they said.

The NHM director said during the lockdown, efforts were made to ensure that delivery services are provided without any interruption at both public and private institutions.

In non-Covid-19 health facilities, provisions have been made for separate labour, delivery and recovery rooms and isolation ward for delivery and admission of infected mothers, he said.

“We are doing entry-point screening of pregnant women presenting in the obstetric unit. Triaging is being done to minimise contact with suspected Covid-19 cases,” he added.

Analysis of data of deliveries during Covid-19 lockdown period (March to May 2020) has shown that 95.4% childbirths during the period were institutional deliveries.