0.17 million aged below one year eligible in Pune as PCV inoculation begins

Health minister Rajesh Tope said that this will help bring down the infant mortality rate in the state further

On Monday, Maharashtra began administering the pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) as part of its routine immunisation, for the first time.

As per the district health office, Pune district has 173,338 children to be vaccinated in 2021-22, which is 14,445 to be vaccinated monthly. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

Under this initiative, Pune district now has 0.173 million children aged below one year eligible for the inoculation annually.

Health minister Rajesh Tope said that this will help bring down the infant mortality rate in the state further.

As per the district health office, Pune district has 173,338 children to be vaccinated in 2021-22, which is 14,445 to be vaccinated monthly.

The most number of eligible children are from the rural areas of the district.

Tope said on Monday, “In addition to BCG, Rubella, Pentavalent, Rotavirus, DPT and Polio, now PCV will help protect children from multiple infections. This will be included in the routine immunisation programme.”

Dr Pradeep Vyas, chief secretary, health department, said that this vaccine will help bring down the infant mortality rate. He said, “Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria causes severe pneumonia in kids aged below 2 years. This will surely bring down the infant mortality rate even more.”

Dr Dilip Patil, immunisation officer, said that right now this vaccine is available for free at government hospitals and health centres and soon, will be available at private hospitals too, at a cost.