Covid-19: Odisha tops list of full immunisation with 90.5% coverage

Apart from successful vaccination of people against COVID-19, Odisha has topped the list of full immunisation in the country with 90.5 per cent coverage, a senior health department official said.

This was stated by Additional Chief Secretary, Health, RK Sharma while attending a review meeting on the intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 rolled out in the state on Monday.

As per the reports of National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, Odisha topped the list at national level in full immunisation coverage with 90.5 per cent of full immunization, Sharma said.

Generally, full immunisation includes preventive doses against 12 different kinds of diseases including polio, tuberculosis, jaundice, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, HIV, brain fever, pneumonia, measles, rubella, diarrhoea, Japanese fever and others.

Twenty districts of the state were above 90 per cent in full immunisation, and the remaining 10 districts were below 90 per cent. Sharma said that a composite index including five variables was adopted for selecting the districts to be taken up under present IMI 4.0.

Director Family Welfare and State Immunisation nodal officer, Dr Bijaya Panigrahi said that Cuttack, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Koraput, Khurda, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts were selected for inclusion under IMI as per the composite index assessment.

Panigrahi said 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 the children of less than two years.

Vaccination would be done in three rounds like Round-1 from March 7, 2nd Round from April 4, and Round three from May 2 of the current year, and duration of each round would be seven days.

Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra 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 and others.

The chief secretary also directed officials to strengthen the awareness and mobilisation activities at the ground level with active participation of the community leaders, PRI representatives, NGOs, ASHA and Anganwadi Workers.

He said departments like 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 immunisation coverage in this drive.

He also cautioned the authorities to ensure that the ongoing covid vaccination does not get affected in course of this Mission.

It was decided in the meeting that timing of the vaccination on the decided dates would be as per the convenience of the community, and the vaccination camps would be within their easy reach, an official said.