Karnataka is now part of the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) where the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have included the Pentavalent vaccine. Immunisation Week from April 24-30 builds on the state government’s routine immunization campaign.
The vaccine which prevents fatality in children from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis-B and Influenza-B will be administered in government hospitals and clinics across the state.
It is a single injection providing protection against Hib diseases which replaces the erstwhile DPT and hepatitis B injections.
The vaccine is in use for more than 20 years in nearly 180 countries. More than 160 million doses of Hib-containing pentavalent vaccine were distributed worldwide in 2012, including approximately 90 million doses manufactured in India.The vaccine has an excellent safety record that is well researched and published.
The vaccine, recommended by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), was launched as a part of UIP in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in December 2011. Following the recommendations of a post-introduction evaluation by WHO in 2012, Gujarat, Goa, Pondicherry, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Delhi were included.
Earlier in Karnataka, the vaccine was available only at private health facilities and now with under the UIP schedule will help reduce the burden of mortality and disability in children because of Hib diseases. Now the government has urged all parents to get the benefit of the vaccine from government health facilities across the state.
In an effort to create awareness among public the Karnataka government and the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and supported by UNICEF, WHO and other programme partners presented several critical aspects related to the pentavalent vaccine programme implementation.
“UIP has proved beneficial to millions of children. The government has taken a major step to ensure disease free childhood in the state, and pentavalent vaccination will bring down child mortality and morbidity further, said Madan Gopal, principal secretary, Karnataka Health & Family Welfare.
Dr Geetha Nyamgoudar, project director, RCH said, “Infants will be given three doses of the vaccine at six, 10, and 14 weeks of age. Approximately 11 lakh infants will benefit from this vaccine this yearand every year in the state.”
“The expansion of immunisation is a significant step in India’s Call to Action to renew its commitment to child survival by strengthening key strategic public health interventions. Two out of five infants in India - nearly 40 per cent of children do not receive these life-saving vaccine doses. The children missed by essential vaccinations remain defenceless against these killer diseases,” said Dr Satish Gupta, health specialist, UNICEF.