The emergence of global pandemic affected the Universal Routine Immunization Program as the major focus shifted to administration of COVID vaccination. Many children dropped out of the Routine Immunization schedule during the COVID wave. To bridge the gap in the accessibility of life saving vaccines under routine immunization schedule, we made vaccines available at the hard-to-reach rural areas of Meghalaya and the urban slums of Pune and Mumbai.
A recent measles outbreak in the densely packed Indian city of Mumbai caused many children to lose their lives. According to the experts, a reduction in vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the major reasons for the outbreak. The Measles vaccine is part of the national childhood immunization program with two doses recommended for children between the ages of 9 months to 5 years. Through the mobile vaccination units Jivika reached out to the left-out children (mostly residing in slums) and made Measles vaccine and other routine vaccines accessible to them in their locality.
Approach
- Micro-planning and village mapping according to the immunization coverage
- Community mobilization and counselling to eliminate hesitancy and misconceptions
- Vaccination camps at villages and door to door vaccination
- Daily record keeping and updating in the Government’s record