Gujarat govt launches measles-rubella vaccination drive

The Gujarat government today launched a vaccination campaign to protect children from measles and rubella for which it has received a Rs 300 crore grant from the Centre, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told PTI today.

"The campaign, which will last for five weeks, will seek to vaccinate 1.6 crore children between the age of nine months to 15 years across the state against measles and rubella. It is an achievable target and we want all sections of society to participate to make it a success," Patel said today.

"We have got a 100 per cent grant of Rs 300 crore for the campaign which we plan to implement on a mission mode. These two ailments are preventable only by vaccines," Patel added.

Chief Secretary J N Singh said that the vaccine would be administered free at all government hospitals, adding that the state government had the best cold chain for the movement and preservation of these vaccines.

Over 4 lakh children would be vaccinated across 1,827 schools as well as anganwadis and hospitals across Vadodara district, said Collector Shalini Agrawal.

She said that 106 mobile vans had also been deployed to reach remote areas of the district.

Vadodara Municipal Corporation mayor Jigisha Seth said that the civic body would vaccinate 4.25 lakh children residing within corporation limits as part of the drive.

The campaign is being promoted by former Test cricketer Irfan Pathan who will visit vaccination centres to create awareness about the need for children to be protected from the two diseases, said VMC medical officer Mukesh Vaidya.