16,000 Students in residential schools targeted for vaccination

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The health department of the Zilla Parishad has extended the measles and rubella vaccination campaign till November 30, aiming to vaccinate around 16,000 students from residential schools, ashram schools, and madrasas across the district. The campaign, launched between September 15 and October 10 as per the Central Government’s guidelines, could not achieve its target due to examinations and Diwali vacations.

District health officer Dr. Abhay Dhanorkar stated that the Central Government has set a goal to completely eliminate measles and rubella by December 2026. The vaccination drive is routinely implemented in regular schools where children receive the vaccine with their parents’ consent. However, students in residential and ashram schools live away from their families, which poses a challenge.

Recently, cases of these diseases were observed among students from residential and ashram schools in neighboring districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, prompting the administration to focus this extended campaign specifically on such institutions. The campaign will now continue until November 30, 2025.

About the Diseases:

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and in severe cases can lead to blindness, encephalitis, or chickenpox-like symptoms.

Rubella, on the other hand, poses a serious risk to pregnant women during the first trimester, potentially causing birth defects such as small head size, developmental delays, cataracts, deafness, and heart disorders in the unborn child.

To prevent these diseases, vaccination is crucial, and hence this special immunization and awareness campaign has been launched. The campaign targets children aged 5 to 15 years, with the goal of achieving over 95% vaccination coverage and eliminating dropouts between the two doses.

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As per government directives, the campaign initially ran from September 15 to October 10, during which about 60% of students were vaccinated. However, around 40% remained unvaccinated as many children had gone home during school vacations. Therefore, the government decided to extend the campaign deadline to ensure full coverage.