Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign to be Launched

State health minister Mangal Pandey will inaugurate measles-rubella vaccination campaign at Gardanibagh Girls High school on Tuesday. The five-week-long campaign is expected to cover four crore children in the state. UNICEF communication specialist Nipurnh Gupta said children from nine months to 15 years of age will be administered one composite vaccine of rubella and measles. “For first two weeks, the campaign will run in the government and private schools before moving to anganwadi centers in the next two weeks. The leftover children, including migrants, will be covered in the fifth week,” Gupta added. The campaign is being run under the aegis of the Union ministry of health and family welfare along with State Health Society and World Health Organization (WHO). It targets to cover 20 lakh children in Patna alone. A WHO official said at least 20 children die per hour due to the deadly measles and rubella virus.

The district administration has instructed schools to ensure that all their students are vaccinated under the campaign. However, the announcement of indefinite strike by a group of auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) may hamper the campaign as they have been tasked to vaccinate the kids. The ANMs have announced indefinite strike from January 15 under the banner of Bihar Chikitsa Evam Jan Swastha Karamchari Sangh, demanding payment of their pending one-year salary and release of their dearness allowance. The ANMs issued a press statement on Monday, alleging that they have not been getting salary for the past one year. They also threatened to boycott the rubella-measles campaign if their demands are not fulfilled. Dharamshila Kumari, an ANM posted at Dhanarua primary health center, said they had earlier staged a one-day dharna at civil sergeant’s office, but to no avail. “We were assured that all our dues will be cleared by January 10, but nothing happened. We are dying of hunger. Under the current circumstances, we have no option but to go on an indefinite strike”, she added. – TOI