48 lakh children in Karnataka to be vaccinated against Japanese Encephalitis
A special vaccination drive to innoculate around 48 lakh children aged between 1-15 against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will be held in the state starting from December 5 for a period of 3 weeks.
“48 lakh kids aged 1-15 will receive the JE Vaccine during a special campaign that will be held in the state starting from December 5,” health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said. The vaccinations will be given free of cost by the Union government and the campaign will be conducted in 10 districts of Karnataka.
Speaking about the special vaccination drive, Minister Sudhakar said, “In the first week of December, vaccinations will primarily be focused on private and government schools. Following this, in the next two weeks, we will be focusing on vaccination drives in health institutions, Anganwadi centers and among communities. The Union Health Ministry will be supplying us with the Jenvac vaccine to conduct the drive.”
Under the Universal Immunization Programme in the state, Bellary, Raichur, Koppal, Vijayapur, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Mandya, Dharwad, Chitradurga and Davanagere are identified as the 10 endemic districts for this virus. In these districts, JE vaccine is given to children after they complete 9 months and the second dose is given at the age of 1.5 years.