Vaccination

Rollout of U-WIN for digitalisation of vaccination services completed: Govt

The nationwide rollout of U-WIN, a digital platform for digitalisation of all vaccination services provided under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), has been completed, the government informed Parliament on Friday. U-WIN is a digital platform for digitalisation of all vaccination services provided under the UIP to ensure timely administration of life-saving vaccines to pregnant women and children (from birth to 16 years) against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The annual target of the UIP is around 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore infants (0-1 year). "The nationwide rollout of U-WIN has been completed," Patel said. The key features of the platform include "Anytime Access" and "Anywhere' vaccination services, generation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and Child ABHA, citizen module, automated SMS alerts, QR-based e-vaccination certificates and offline mode for

Polio vaccinators attacked, held hostage in 2 separate incidents in Pak

Three terrorists were killed in a gunbattle when they attacked a polio vaccinators' team in Pakistan's restive northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday. In another incident, unknown militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at a dispensary in the same province, sources said here. The attack on polio vaccinators came a day after Pakistan on Monday started its third nationwide polio campaign to vaccinate 45 million children. In the first incident in Aurakzai tribal district, bordering Afghanistan, a policeman also killed in the shootout while frustrating the attack on the polio vaccinators. At least three terrorists were mowed down by the police in the fierce gunbattle and a fresh team has been rushed to the site, sources added. No group claimed responsibility for the brutal attack. In the second incident in North Waziristan's tehsil Shewa, unidentified militants took hostage the entire team of polio vaccinators at the Mamet Kot dispensary in the restiv

PM Modi to launch health projects, distribute 51,000 appointment letters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch development projects worth nearly Rs 12,850 crore on Tuesday and also extend his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Modi has chosen to unveil the major health sector push on the occasion of the ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, considered the god of medicine. At a separate event, he will also distribute more than 51,000 appointment letters to the youth as part of his government's 'Rozgar Mela', an official statement said. Noting that it has been the constant endeavour of the prime minister to provide quality healthcare services in the country, another statement said Modi will inaugurate Phase II of India's first All India Institute of Ayurveda in the national capital. It includes a Panchakarma hospital, an ayurvedic pharmacy for drug manufacturing, a sports medicine unit, a central library, an IT and start-ups incubation centre and a 500-sea

Worldwide infant mortality rate drops by two-third over 50 years: Report

In Southeast Asia alone, 38.04 million lives were saved by vaccines in 2024, compared to 34.82 million in 2020, 15.70 million in 2000, and 5.35 million in 1990

National full immunisation coverage at 93.5%; Lakshadweep, J-K top list

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

U-WIN decoded: Govt's online vaccine portal for pregnant women, children

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

Population of country not considered in the latest WHO-Unicef data

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

1.6 million children unvaccinated in India; Afghanistan and Pak rank better

Persistent socio-economic barriers and geographical disparities hinder immunisation efforts, with significant impact on global health

Budget Watch: Ayushman Bharat, vaccination programme top agenda for health

In Union Budget for FY25, experts anticipate expanded coverage and increased funding for major health initiatives in the upcoming budget

Vaccine group Gavi seeks $11.9 bn to immunise world's poorest children

The amount will be finalised at a meeting on Thursday in Paris, where donors will make pledges for the organisation's plan for 2026-2030

US, European nations taking steps to vaccinate workers exposed to bird flu

US officials last week said they were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine

Does the country need to continue with Covid-19 vaccination drive?

Experts feel paid vaccine shots should continue to be available for elderly and comorbid

National Vaccination Day 2024: History, importance and more about this day

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

Budget 2024: Govt will encourage vaccination for cervical cancer, says FM

As per 2022 estimates, every year, approximately 125,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and over 75 thousand die from the disease

Covid-19 update: In biggest single-day spike, India registers 628 cases

JN.1 Covid-19 variant: In India, cases of the new JN.1 Covid-19 variant has been found in Rajasthan, Goa and Maharashtra. The total cases of the new variant currently stands at 26

India's Covid vax rate falls 75% since Apr as US, UK ready for another shot

In recent weeks, over 70 per cent of India's current vaccinations have been adminis­tered to people in the age group of 45-60 years

High exposure to Covid may reduce protection from vaccination: Study

High levels of exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus may reduce or overcome the protection that COVID-19 vaccination and prior infection provides, according to a study conducted in the US. The findings, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that in densely crowded settings, control measures that reduce levels of exposure to the virus -- such as masking, improved ventilation, and distancing -- may afford additional benefit in preventing new infections among people who have been vaccinated or previously infected. The study was performed to understand whether the immunity gained after vaccination or a prior infection was less effective or "leaky" in situations where people are exposed to high levels of the virus. "It's really hard to find a population, such as the residents of the Connecticut Department of Correction, where we know the type of exposure somebody has and we know their vaccination and prior infection status," said Margaret Lind, lead author of the ..

India needs better defences to be a digital superpower after data breach

I suspect the government is right and CoWIN is not currently being accessed by hackers. Even so, it seems likely that outsiders have penetrated some aspect of India's digital public infrastructure

People rush back to vaccination centres as Covid-19 scare resurfaces

Hospitals check equipment, trial run of oxygen plants ahead of mock drills

Nothing to panic about, take precaution: Doctors on rise in Covid cases

Amid a gradual increase in Covid-19 cases in Delhi in recent days, some medical experts say the new XBB.1.16 variant could be driving the rise in cases but add there's no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get booster shots if they have not already. They also say this rise could be a result of more people getting themselves tested for Covid as a precaution when they actually get infected with the influenza virus and develop fever and related ailments. Over the past week, Delhi has seen a rise in daily Covid cases amid a sharp increase in H3N2 influenza cases in parts of the country, including the national capital. On Friday, Delhi recorded over 150 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 6.66 per cent. A day before that, it logged 117 cases with a positivity rate of 4.95 per cent. The number of daily Covid cases has nearly doubled since Tuesday when 83 fresh Covid cases were reported with a positivity rate of 5.83 per cent and one fatality. T