Mission Indradhanush: Odisha tops in full immunization with over 90% coverage

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Bhubaneswar: In a step towards preventive health care for mothers and children, the intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 has been rolled out in Odisha from March 7 for boosting full immunization coverage of the targeted women and children, said the State government on Tuesday.

Reviewing the progress made so far, Chief Secretary, Suresh Chandra Mahapatra directed to strengthen the awareness and mobilization activities at the ground level with the active participation of the community leaders, PRI representatives, NGOs, ASHA and Anganwadi Workers. 

He also directed concerned departments more particularly the departments of women and child welfare, school and mass education, Panchayati raj and drinking water, scheduled tribe, scheduled caste and minorities development, housing and urban development, labour and ESI, sports and youth affairs, information and public relations to ensure convergence at the ground zero level as per the micro plans, and ensure that no eligible child or pregnant mother is left without full immunization coverage in this drive.

Mahapatra also directed to ensure that "ongoing COVID vaccination does not get affected in course of this Mission".

Additional Chief Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Raj Kumar Sharma said, "As per the reports of National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, Odisha topped the list at national level in full immunization coverage with 90.5% of full immunization. Generally, full immunization includes preventive doses against 12 different kinds of diseases including polio, tuberculosis, jaundice, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, Hib brain fever, pneumonia, measles, rubella, diarrhoea, Japanese fever etc".

Twenty districts of the state were above 90% in full immunization, and 10 districts were below 90%.

"A composite index including 5 variables was adopted for selecting the districts to be taken up under present IMI 4.0," Sharma added.

Director Family Welfare, Dr Bijaya Panigrahi said that 12 districts namely Cuttack, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Koraput, Khordha, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Sundargarh were selected for inclusion under IMI as per the composite index assessment. Further, Dr Panigrahi added that the vaccination drive would be done in three rounds wherein different doses of various vaccines would be given. 

The targeted population would be the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated pregnant women, and children of less than 2 years. Vaccination would be done in 3 rounds viz. 1st Round- from 7 March, 2nd Round- from 4 April, and 3rd Round from 2 May of the current year, and duration of each round would be seven days. 

Chief Secretary Mahapatra directed to focus on coverage of the children who took birth in homes, children of migrating people to nearby towns, nomadic tribes, brick kiln workers, workers on construction sites, urban slums, orphanages, prisons, hard to reach areas, and tribal pockets etc.