Scripting a success story of the Measles Rubella Vaccination Campaign (MRVC) Meghalaya recorded vaccination of more than three lakh children against measles and rubella.
Interacting with media in Shillong on Tuesday, State Health and Family Welfare Minister, A L Hek shared that the Measles Rubella Vaccination campaign had been very successful.
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He further sought cooperation from cross sections of the society to safeguard the children of the State from the two deadly diseases.
Speaking on the occasion, secretary of the Department, Pravin Bakshi said that till October 8, 1,88,566 boys and 1,93,855 girls had been covered bringing the overall total to 3,82,421 children being vaccinated against measles and rubella.
Bakshi, however, lamented that the campaign had hit some road blocks initially because of rumour mongering and superstitions mainly shared on social media platforms.
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But he was quick to add that the Health and Education department teams, assisted by the Social Welfare Department did the damage control in time by dispelling false rumours and explaining the benefits and importance of this vaccination drive.
Bakshi also said that in order to instill confidence in the minds of the people about the safety of the vaccinations, many Deputy Commissioners, government officers, doctors and nurses have walked the extra mile to vaccinate their own children first.
As per the statistics, East Jaintia Hills district is leading with 65 per cent coverage by the vaccination campaign followed by West Jaintia Hills with 60 per cent and West Khasi Hills district with 42 per cent.
East Garo has 32 per cent coverage with South West Garo Hills and South West Khasi Hills close on the heels with 31 per cent coverage each.