Govt announces expansion of rotavirus vaccine in 5 states

The government today announced the expansion of rotavirus vaccine in five additional states under its Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
The announcement came after 38 lakh children were vaccinated in four states - Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha when the vaccine was first introduced.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda while announcing the expansion said that it is the endeavour of the government to protect every child from vaccine preventable diseases.
"This is a new milestone towards expanding the coverage of full immunization in the country aimed at reducing child mortality," Nadda said at a function in Agartala.
He said diarrhoea is one of the biggest killers in children and rotavirus is one of the most common causes of severe diarrhoea in children less than 2 years of age.

Now, the vaccine will be expanded to Assam, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

The vaccine will prevent Rotavirus diarrhoea in children which accounts for approximately 40 per cent of hospitalizations from diarrhoea in India.
Rotavirus diarrhoea is responsible for nearly 78,000 deaths, 32 lakh out-patient visits and nearly 9 lakh hospitalizations every year.
Asserting that government is committed to reducing morbidity and mortality in children, the Health Minister said strengthening routine immunization is an essential investment in India's children and will ensure a healthy future of the country.
Nadda said that rotavirus vaccine along with proper sanitation, hand washing practices, ORS and zinc supplementation will go a long way in reducing the mortality and morbidity due to diarrhoea in children.

"The government is also committed to increasing the full immunization coverage and ensuring that the benefit of the life-saving vaccines is provided to every child.
"The fourth phase of Mission Indradhanush has already begun in North-eastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura from February 7 this year and will be rolled out in rest of the country in April 2017," he said while urging states to successfully roll out the mission.