The five-in-one pentavalent vaccine will be rolled out
in Tamil Nadu from December 17, Health Department officials have said.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been chosen by the Centre to introduce the
vaccine in the national immunisation programme.
After
the official inauguration by Health Minister V.S. Vijay at Vellore, it
will be introduced into the regular Wednesday immunisation schedule on
the field from December 17, the officials said. A total of 12 lakh doses
of the vaccine ‘Pentavalent,' procured from Serum Institute, has
already arrived in the State and have been disbursed to the various
field centres. In December alone, about 90,000 children will be
immunised with the pentavalent vaccine.
The vaccine
provides protection against – Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B
and Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections – in a single shot.
The pentavalent vaccine will replace the current Hepatitis B and DPT
vaccinations in the immunisation programme during the 6{+t}{+h},
10{+t}{+h} and 14{+t}{+h} week after birth, health experts said during a
media interaction programme organised here by the UNICEF.
Speaking
on the occasion, Principal Secretary, Health, Girija Vaidyanathan, said
there was a definite case for a vaccine for Hib, a bacterium that
causes severe infections that can be life threatening or lead to severe
disability. Parents will welcome the pentavalent vaccine for the primary
reason that it will bring down the number of pricks the child gets
during vaccination, according to Director of Public Health R.T.
Porkaipandian. It will be given only to children coming to the centres
for the first dose of DPT, not those coming for booster doses, explained
K. Vanaja, joint director, Immunisation. Satish Gupta, health officer,
UNICEF Delhi, said Hib had an excellent safety record, and had been
proven to be over 95 per cent efficacious against invasive diseases.
Chandrakanth Lahariya, National AEFI Focal Person and New Vaccines Focal
Person at World Health Organisation, traced the path the decision to
introduce the pentavalent vaccine took.
Yuvaraj J,
scientist, National Institute of Epidemiology, said two sites for
bacterial meningitis surveillance
were ongoing in Kerala, and five in
Tamil Nadu. J. Kumutha, head of Neonatology, Institute of Child Health,
Siva Prakasam, State president, Indian Academy of Paediatrics spoke
Experts
agreed that safety and efficacy of the vaccine would continue to be of
concern to the public health department and that close monitoring was
essential.
