Maulvis to help catalyse vaccine drive in Thane

The Thane district administration in Maharashtra has roped in maulvis to spread awareness in their community about the vaccine to prevent infectious diseases like measles and rubella among children.

The step has been taken to remove all misconceptions from people's minds about the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine, Collector Rajesh Narvekar told reporters here on Tuesday.

The district administration will start the MR vaccination drive from November 27 and it will continue for about six weeks, he said.

"Maulvis have been roped in to spread the awareness and make the vaccination programme a success," Narvekar said.

The vaccination drive will cover nearly 26.86 lakh children between the age of nine months and 15 years. "Our endeavour is to ensure 100 per cent coverage," he said.

Last year, there were seven measles cases in the district while this year, five such cases have been reported so far, the collector said.

Besides, there were three cases of rubella in 2017 but no case has been reported this year, he said.

"The aim is to eradicate these diseases completely by 2020," he added.