New immunisation practices mooted
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26/04/2008
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Hindu (New Delhi)
A new set of procedures to administer vaccines to children will be tried in the State, following the death of four infants in Tiruvallur district after measles vaccination. Vaccination The Directorate of Public Health (DPH) is contemplating a model wherein children in a particular district would be brought to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in their block for vaccination instead of carrying the vaccine to village health centres. "We were told at meeting held in Chennai on Thursday that an alternative immunisation model will be tried by the Directorate. Opinion has been sought from health officials,' a senior official told The Hindu here on Friday. Confirming this, a top DPH official said that the details of the alternative model would be announced in a week after which it would be tested for feasibility. There were also plans to provide transport for children, along with their mothers, to the PHC, the official said. Success However, district-level officials here were not sure if the expressed doubts over the success of this new model, as routine immunisation involved a huge number of children. Bringing all of them to PHCs might be a difficult task, they felt. Guidelines issued The DPH has also issued guidelines to all district-level health officials on procedures for measles immunisation. District health officials had been alerting the Directorate at meetings that "in several rural villages non-medical people or unauthorised persons were handling the vaccine in Primary Health Centres and complaints were made earlier too.' "There are instances of some village health nurses deputing