The government is set to launch a month-long special campaign from September 26 to vaccinate children who were missed during the measles-rubella vaccination drive.
The “Intensified MR Catch-Up Vaccination” campaign will continue until October 31, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Sakhawat Husain said at a press conference at the Secretariat on Sunday.
Under the campaign, children aged six months to under five years who did not receive the measles-rubella vaccine or were missed during the ongoing campaign will be identified and vaccinated.
Children who have reached six months of age and are newly eligible for vaccination will also be brought under the program.
The minister said the government had taken various measures to control measles infections and protect children following an outbreak in the country this year. The measles-rubella vaccination drive was conducted in phases from April, with around 19.83 million children vaccinated so far.
The government has also strengthened routine immunisation and disease surveillance and taken steps to ensure treatment for children with measles. It has formulated national guidelines on measles-rubella clinical case management and trained health workers accordingly.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the target for the Vitamin A campaign among children in the same age group was higher than that of the measles-rubella campaign, suggesting that some children may have been left out of existing vaccination lists.
Officials will compare Vitamin A campaign data, measles-rubella vaccination registers, local microplans, previous campaign records and field monitoring findings to identify children who missed vaccination.
Health workers and volunteers will also visit households to check children’s vaccination status. Those who have missed their vaccines will be listed and vaccinated under the special program.
