Social Justice
Nationwide Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Drive
- 30 Oct 2021
- 4 min read
Why in News
Recently, the Union Health Minister has launched a nationwide expansion of Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) with an aim to reduce under 5 mortalities caused due to pneumonia.
- It was launched under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) as a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
- It was for the first time in the country that PCV would be available for universal use.
Key Points
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV):
- A Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine containing 13 different strains of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, used in children and studied in patients with impaird immune system for the prevention of pneumococcal disease.
- Conjugate vaccines are made using a combination of two different components.
- A Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine containing 13 different strains of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, used in children and studied in patients with impaird immune system for the prevention of pneumococcal disease.
- Pneumococcal Disease:
- About: It is a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, sometimes known as pneumococcus.
- Symptoms: These bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs. Pneumococcal bacteria are one of the most common causes of pneumonia.
- Vulnerable Population: Children under 2 years of age, people with certain medical conditions, adults 65 years or older, and cigarette smokers are at the highest risk.
- Status in India: In India, around 16% of deaths among children occur due to pneumonia.
- Pneumonia is contagious and can be spread through coughing or sneezing. It can also be spread through fluids, like blood during childbirth, or from contaminated surfaces.
- Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP):
- Launch:
- The Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- In 1985, the Programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)’.
- Objectives of the Programme:
- Rapidly increasing immunization coverage,
- Improving the quality of services,
- Establishing a reliable cold chain system to the health facility level,
- Introducing a district-wise system for monitoring of performance, and
- Achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine production.
- Features:
- UIP prevents mortality and morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. But in the past, it was seen that the increase in immunization coverage had slowed down and it increased at the rate of 1% per year between 2009 and 2013.
- Nationally against 10 diseases - Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Rotavirus diarrhea, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Haemophilus Influenzae type B.
- Sub-nationally against 2 diseases - Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis; of which Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine has been nationally expanded, while JE vaccine is provided only in endemic districts.
- To accelerate the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was envisaged and implemented since 2015 to rapidly increase the full immunization coverage to 90%.
- Recently, the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 3.0 scheme has been rolled out to cover children and pregnant women who missed routine immunisation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- UIP prevents mortality and morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. But in the past, it was seen that the increase in immunization coverage had slowed down and it increased at the rate of 1% per year between 2009 and 2013.
- Launch: