Centre rolls out nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign

The Centre has rolled out measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign to cover about 41 crore children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years across the country.

The nationwide campaign will be completed in a phased manner.

"It is going to be the largest ever vaccination campaign worldwide. Following the campaign, the MR vaccine will become a part of routine immunisation and will replace measles vaccine, currently given at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age of child," the Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

India, along with ten other WHO South East Asia Region member countries, have resolved to eliminate measles and control rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) by 2020. 

The roll out of the MR vaccination campaign by the Health Ministry is part of the resolution.

"All children from 9 months to less than 15 years of age will be given a single shot of Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination during the campaign. The campaign aims



to cover approximately 41 crore children," the Ministry said.

The first phase of measles-rubella vaccination campaign has been successfully completed in five states-Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

"More than 3.3 crore children were vaccinated, reaching out to 97% of the intended age group. The campaign was carried out in schools, community centers and health facilities," the Ministry said.

The next round of the campaign will start in eight including Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana and Uttarakhand from this month 2017 to cover 3.4 crore children.

"The campaign aims to rapidly build up immunity for both measles and rubella diseases in the community so as to knock out the disease. Therefore, all the children should receive MR vaccine during the campaign. For those children who have already received such vaccination, the campaign dose would provide additional boosting to them," the Health Ministry said.