Vaccination

India refutes Lancet report, says unvaccinated child rate now lower

A recent Lancet report had grouped India among eight countries having more than half of the world's zero dose children as of 2023

Unvaccinated kids' numbers fell from 0.11% in 2023 to 0.06% in 2024: Govt

The effect of the increased number of lifesaving vaccines in reducing mortality and morbidity in children due to diarrhea, pneumonia, meningitis & encephalitis is also clearly observable

India among 8 nations with half of world's unvaccinated children: Study

India was among the eight countries where more than half the unvaccinated children from around the world lived as of 2023, an analysis published in The Lancet journal showed, "emphasising persistent inequities." Providing global estimates of current vaccine coverage, the study found that the same year, there were 15.7 million children -- 1.44 million in India -- who had received no doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine in their first year. An international team of researchers forming the 'Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 Vaccine Coverage Collaborators' updated global, regional, and national estimates of routine childhood vaccine coverage from 1980 to 2023 for 204 countries and territories. In 1980, 53.5 per cent of children who had never received a routine childhood vaccine, or 'zero-dose' children, lived in just five countries -- India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh --, they said. Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most powerful and ...

On guard, to keep waves at bay: No rush to stockpile Covid vaccines

The virus may have lost its 'bite', but is still highly transmissible, as experts point out

Covid-19 wave returns in Asia, cases increase in Hong Kong, Singapore

Covid-19 cases are rising sharply across Asia, with Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Thailand reporting spikes. However, despite rising cases elsewhere in Asia, India has not reported any increase

How India's vaccine programme ensures access for all, even remote areas

World Immunisation Week 2025: India's Universal Immunisation Programme targets over 50 million beneficiaries each year, with new digital tools aimed at closing the access gap

World Immunisation Week 2025: Vaccines save 6 lives a minute, says WHO

World Immunisation Week 2025: WHO's global health campaign reaffirms the power of vaccines in protecting lives and communities; here's all you need to know

From eradicated to epidemic: Why measles has made a comeback in US

Texas has reported over 500 confirmed measles cases, with most patients unvaccinated. Health officials are pushing emergency vaccinations to curb the escalating outbreak

Covid's lessons ignored: The world risks repeating past mistakes

The vaccines allowed Covid to be treated as an aberration, but we must not forget what it really was: A preview of the kind of planetary challenges that await us

Donald Trump to discuss ending childhood vaccination programs with RFK Jr

Robert F. Kennedy Jr is US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services

Rollout of U-WIN for digitalisation of vaccination services completed: Govt

The nationwide rollout of U-WIN, a digital platform for digitalisation of all vaccination services provided under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), has been completed, the government informed Parliament on Friday. U-WIN is a digital platform for digitalisation of all vaccination services provided under the UIP to ensure timely administration of life-saving vaccines to pregnant women and children (from birth to 16 years) against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The annual target of the UIP is around 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore infants (0-1 year). "The nationwide rollout of U-WIN has been completed," Patel said. The key features of the platform include "Anytime Access" and "Anywhere' vaccination services, generation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and Child ABHA, citizen module, automated SMS alerts, QR-based e-vaccination certificates and offline mode for

Polio vaccinators attacked, held hostage in 2 separate incidents in Pak

Three terrorists were killed in a gunbattle when they attacked a polio vaccinators' team in Pakistan's restive northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday. In another incident, unknown militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at a dispensary in the same province, sources said here. The attack on polio vaccinators came a day after Pakistan on Monday started its third nationwide polio campaign to vaccinate 45 million children. In the first incident in Aurakzai tribal district, bordering Afghanistan, a policeman also killed in the shootout while frustrating the attack on the polio vaccinators. At least three terrorists were mowed down by the police in the fierce gunbattle and a fresh team has been rushed to the site, sources added. No group claimed responsibility for the brutal attack. In the second incident in North Waziristan's tehsil Shewa, unidentified militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at the Mamet Kot dispensary in the restiv

PM Modi to launch health projects, distribute 51,000 appointment letters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch development projects worth nearly Rs 12,850 crore on Tuesday and also extend his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Modi has chosen to unveil the major health sector push on the occasion of the ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, considered the god of medicine. At a separate event, he will also distribute more than 51,000 appointment letters to the youth as part of his government's 'Rozgar Mela', an official statement said. Noting that it has been the constant endeavour of the prime minister to provide quality healthcare services in the country, another statement said Modi will inaugurate Phase II of India's first All India Institute of Ayurveda in the national capital. It includes a Panchakarma hospital, an ayurvedic pharmacy for drug manufacturing, a sports medicine unit, a central library, an IT and start-ups incubation centre and a 500-sea

Worldwide infant mortality rate drops by two-third over 50 years: Report

In Southeast Asia alone, 38.04 million lives were saved by vaccines in 2024, compared to 34.82 million in 2020, 15.70 million in 2000, and 5.35 million in 1990

National full immunisation coverage at 93.5%; Lakshadweep, J-K top list

The national full immunisation coverage for 2023-24 was 93.50 per cent, with Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir topping the list, according to the Source Health Management Information System. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said Lakshadweep (108.79 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (108.66 per cent) were followed by Telangana (106.13 per cent), Delhi (105.03 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (101.26 per cent), Mizoram (101.10 per cent) and Maharashtra (101.04 per cent). Immunisation coverage was above 95 per cent in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Jharkhand Gujarat, Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh during this period. The coverage was the lowest in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu at 48.03 per cent. According to health ministry sources, some states and Union territories had figures higher than 100 per cent because of increased coverage by catch-up campaigns such as Intensified Mission Indradhan

U-WIN decoded: Govt's online vaccine portal for pregnant women, children

The U-WIN portal aims to create an electronic registry of routine immunisations for pregnant women and children under the Universal Immunisation Programme

Population of country not considered in the latest WHO-Unicef data

India's population, which is many times more than several nations, has not been taken into account while comparing children's vaccination data with 19 other countries in the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC), official sources have said. They asserted that India is steadfast in its commitment to reduce the number of zero-dose children. "Even though India has the second highest (number of) zero-dose children in the world, it accounts for 0.11 per cent of the country's total population," Union health ministry sources said on Tuesday. The sources were reacting to the WUENIC data released on Monday which stated that India had the second highest number of children, nearly 16 lakh, who did not receive any vaccine in 2023, just after Nigeria with 21 lakh zero-dose children. "The comparison is flawed as the base population has not been taken into consideration," a source said. The WUENIC data showed that India's rank improved from 2021 when the coun

1.6 million children unvaccinated in India; Afghanistan and Pak rank better

Persistent socio-economic barriers and geographical disparities hinder immunisation efforts, with significant impact on global health

Budget Watch: Ayushman Bharat, vaccination programme top agenda for health

In Union Budget for FY25, experts anticipate expanded coverage and increased funding for major health initiatives in the upcoming budget

Vaccine group Gavi seeks $11.9 bn to immunise world's poorest children

The amount will be finalised at a meeting on Thursday in Paris, where donors will make pledges for the organisation's plan for 2026-2030