Health department to go tough on schools opposing drive against measles-rubella - Hindustan Times
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Health department to go tough on schools opposing drive against measles-rubella

Hindustan Times | By
Oct 18, 2017 08:11 PM IST

According to officials, around 24 public schools in the district including some in Dehradun, Mussoorie and Rishikesh have “refused to cooperate” for conducting the vaccination drive on their institution premises. Efforts are being made to bring such schools on board, but action will be taken against them if they still do not agree to cooperate, said officials.

DEHRADUN: The health department is planning to take action against two dozen public schools of the district which are resisting the upcoming mass vaccination drive against viral diseases like measles and rubella that affect children.

The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign is scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand from October 30 to November 30.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign is scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand from October 30 to November 30.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign is scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand from October 30 to November 30. Over 32 lakh children will be immunised against the diseases through a single-shot vaccine under the mass drive.

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According to officials, around 24 public schools in the district including some in Dehradun, Mussoorie and Rishikesh have “refused to cooperate” for conducting the vaccination drive on their institution premises. Efforts are being made to bring such schools on board, but action will be taken against them if they still do not agree to cooperate, said officials.

“We have arranged a meeting with principals and managements of (unwilling) schools after Diwali to make them understand the importance of the campaign. But if they still don’t agree, we will have to take action as this campaign can succeed only if all children are duly covered,” said Archana Srivastava, director general (medical health and family welfare.

The campaign will be run across all schools of the hill state starting October 30, wherein children between 9 months and 15 years of age will be administered the MR vaccine.

“The state government is taking the drive very seriously...if the schools do not relent, we will send notices to them via the education department and will take appropriate action against them,” said Navin Baluni, health advisor of CM Trivendra Singh Rawat (who holds the health portfolio).

Schools, on the other hand, put the onus on the “resistance of parents” for opposing the drive. “If parents don’t give their consent (for vaccinating their wards), how can we allow the drive to proceed? At the end of the day, we cannot go against the guardians,” said the vice principal of a leading public school of Dehradun, adding that his school will put forth this point in the meeting with health department officials.

Earlier, the campaign was scheduled to have taken place in September, but was postponed in view of the other public health drives.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Neha Pant is a senior correspondent at Hindustan Times based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. She writes on a range of topics including civic issues, urban development, politics, health, women and youth issues, culture and lifestyle.

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