UP districts fall short of immunisation targets

Lucknow, May 29 (IANS) A dozen districts in Uttar Pradesh have covered less than 90 per cent of the targeted kids -- below one year of age -- under the routine immunisation programme conducted across the state in 2022-23.

The state health department has now decided to form district-level committees that shall work upon reasons for poor coverage and get the 'missed out' children vaccinated.

Also, methods used by well-performing districts will be used elsewhere.

According to the data in Jalaun district, only 31,322 children out of the targeted 43,781 were immunised which means a coverage of just 71.54 per cent.

Other districts that vaccinated less than 90 per cent of the targeted children include Badaun, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur, and Azamgarh.

On the other hand, the best performing districts include Gautam Buddha Nagar, Lucknow and Ghaziabad that have exceeded their targets.

Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general association of international doctors, said: "Vaccination protects infants and children before they come into contact with life-threatening diseases. Vaccinations are done at a young age as children are vulnerable to diseases."