India Vaccination

The national full immunisation coverage for 2023-24 was 93.50 per cent, with Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir topping the list, according to the Source Health Management Information System. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said Lakshadweep (108.79 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (108.66 per cent) were followed by Telangana (106.13 per cent), Delhi (105.03 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (101.26 per cent), Mizoram (101.10 per cent) and Maharashtra (101.04 per cent). Immunisation coverage was above 95 per cent in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Jharkhand Gujarat, Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh during this period. The coverage was the lowest in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu at 48.03 per cent. According to health ministry sources, some states and Union territories had figures higher than 100 per cent because of increased coverage by catch-up campaigns such as Intensified Mission Indradhan

The U-WIN portal aims to create an electronic registry of routine immunisations for pregnant women and children under the Universal Immunisation Programme

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said media reports stating that India has a high number of 'zero dose children', who did not receive any vaccine, in comparison to other countries based on UNICEF report depicts an incomplete picture of the country's immunization data. The ministry said they do not factor in the population base and immunization coverage of the countries compared. The accurate and complete narrative of the immunization efforts of the government can be gauged through comprehensive understanding of the relative data and programmatic interventions, the ministry added. The percentage coverage for all antigens in India is higher than the global average. In India, for most of the antigens, the coverage is more than 90 per cent, which is at par with other high-income countries such as New Zealand (DTP-1 93 per cent), Germany and Finland (DPT-3 91 per cent), Sweden (MCV-1 93 per cent), Luxembourg (MCV-2 90 per cent), Ireland (PCV-3 83 per cent), United Kingdom of Great

India's population, which is many times more than several nations, has not been taken into account while comparing children's vaccination data with 19 other countries in the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC), official sources have said. They asserted that India is steadfast in its commitment to reduce the number of zero-dose children. "Even though India has the second highest (number of) zero-dose children in the world, it accounts for 0.11 per cent of the country's total population," Union health ministry sources said on Tuesday. The sources were reacting to the WUENIC data released on Monday which stated that India had the second highest number of children, nearly 16 lakh, who did not receive any vaccine in 2023, just after Nigeria with 21 lakh zero-dose children. "The comparison is flawed as the base population has not been taken into consideration," a source said. The WUENIC data showed that India's rank improved from 2021 when the coun

Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said it has collaborated with the Netherlands-based Bilthoven Biologicals B.V, a wholly-owned arm of Serum Institute of India, to strengthen production and supply security of oral polio vaccines. An agreement has been signed between the two partners under which Bharat Biotech will procure drug substances for the production of oral polio vaccines (OPVs) to be supplied within India and globally, the company said in a statement. Through this collaboration, Bharat Biotech and Bilthoven Biologicals (BBio) will jointly obtain regulatory approvals and licences required to commercially manufacture OPVs in India for global supplies from drug substances manufactured in the Netherlands at BBio, it added. "This collaboration...exemplifies cooperation between vaccine companies, ensuring a secure supply of oral polio vaccines and fortifies the nation's mission to eradicate polio," Bharat Biotech Executive Chairman Krishna Ella said. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar ...

National Vaccination Day is celebrated every year in India on 16 March to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work of frontline health care workers to ensure the vaccination of every child

JN.1 Covid- 19 variant: The Karnataka government on Monday said 34 cases of Covid-19's variant JN.1 have been found in the state so far

MoH issues advisories to states. Karnataka brings back mask rule for senior citizens after Kerala sees spike in cases

National Vaccination Day celebrates Pulse Polio Immunization Programme launched in 1995 to fight a disease that has now been eradicated in the country

Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines increased globally, from 75.2 per cent in 2021 to 79.1 per cent in 2022, according to a survey in 23 countries that represent more than 60 per cent of the world's population. The study underlines a wide variability among countries and the need for tailored communication strategies in addressing vaccine hesitancy. It was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain, and the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), US. However, vaccine acceptance decreased in eight countries and almost one in eight vaccinated respondents, particularly younger men and women, were hesitant about receiving a booster dose, the study said. The findings have been published in Nature Medicine. "The pandemic is not over, and authorities must urgently address vaccine hesitancy and resistance as part of their COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategy," says Jeffrey V Lazarus, Head of the Health Systems ...

Demand for flu vaccine weak in India; US facing worst season in a decade

With over 90% of population being vaccinated, it is okay at a policy level to relax the mandatory vaccination norm for entering India, they say

The requirement of random post-arrival testing of 2 per cent of arriving passengers too has been done away with in the new guideline

Firm is develop recombinant products in hormones, eyes acquisitions in South East Asia

One dose of vaccine has proven effective in stopping outbreaks, even though evidence on the exact duration of protection is 'limited'.

Covid-19 vaccine makers have no plans to seek further shelf life extensions

The 75-day-long Amrit Mahotsav campaign also helped salvage wastage of vaccine doses

Will be critical to the success of India's drive to eliminate TB by 2025

The locally developed Ceravac can play a critical role in the efficacy of the National Immunisation Mission

Due to the constantly emerging new Covid-19 variants, the currently available vaccines may not be as effective