Odisha Formulates Strategic Roadmap To Achieve 90% Immunisation Against Measles & Rubella By Dec

By the end of December, the Odisha government hopes to have achieved a record 90% complete immunization coverage against measles and rubella.

Shalini Pandit, secretary of the Health and Family Welfare department, stated in a letter sent to all district collectors and municipal commissioners on Friday that the nation is dedicated to eliminating measles and rubella (MR) by the end of 2023. The state has created a roadmap in this respect. To attain at least 95% of MR 1 & MR 2 antigen immunization in each district is one of its strategic goals.

Pandit said that the resolve to eradicating MR by December 2023 was reiterated at the 5th meeting of the India Expert Advisory Group on Measles-Rubella (IEAG-MR), which was held in June. Every district must reach a coverage rate of 95% with both doses of the MR vaccine, an NMNR Discard Rate of 2 per 100,000 people, and no viral transmission in the neighborhood in order to completely eradicate MR.

The following are the main IEAG-MR recommendations:

1. Aaggressive execution of the MR eradication roadmap’s recommended tactics for boosting immunization coverage, surveillance, and epidemic response.
2. Enhanced cross-sectoral collaboration, involvement of IMA, IAP, Rotary, Lions, and Panchayati Raj, etc.
3. To guarantee that no kid is unvaccinated, well-planned immunization campaigns are conducted in metropolitan and peri-urban regions.
4. Utilize the IMI opportunity Drive to administer the MR vaccine to all unvaccinated children up to the age of five.