CHENNAI: On the occasion of World Immunization Day on Friday, the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine has urged the public to follow the national vaccination schedule and get vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Under the vaccination program, 11 types of vaccines are given to children and pregnant mothers to protect them from 12 types of vaccine-preventable diseases. Every year 9.15 lakh infants and 10 lakh pregnant women are benefited from this scheme in the state.
A circular from the directorate said vaccination is carried out on all days of the week at government medical college hospitals and government hospitals. Vaccines are also being administered in government primary health centers and outreach sessions are organized every Wednesday at Anganwadi centers and selected public places in villages and towns.
Vaccination coverage in Tamil Nadu has crossed 95 percent. A total of 3.20 crore vaccines worth Rs 10 crore are administered to children and pregnant mothers every year in Tamil Nadu. The directorate urged the public to get age-appropriate vaccinations.
Immunization is available free of charge at all government medical facilities for vaccine-preventable tuberculosis, whooping cough, jaundice, influenza-pneumonia and meningitis, polio, measles, rubella, rotavirus, pneumococcal pneumonia and Japanese encephalitis. All vaccinations are available in stock in 2,691 cold stations in Tamil Nadu.
Special vaccination programs are also being organized by the Department as per the need, such as Intensive Pulse Polio Programme, Intensive Mission Indra Dhanush 5.0, Hepatitis B vaccination and COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers.
