Various religious and community organisations in the district on Friday reassured the authorities that they would cooperate with the ongoing measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign.
Representatives of community and religious organisations who attended a meeting convened here assured District Collector Amit Meena that they would do everything possible to support the MR campaign.
Addressing the meeting, P. Ubaidulla, MLA, reminded them of the importance of maintaining vigil against misconceptions being spread through social media. He called upon them to make timely interventions when the anti-vaccine propagandists mislead innocent people. He also inaugurated a signature campaign for the cause.
The representatives assured the authorities that health officials would be permitted to use mosques, churches, and temples to create awareness of the importance of vaccination. Large gatherings in mosques could be addressed soon after Juma prayers on Friday and in churches on Sunday.
Through social media
The social media groups, particularly WhatsApp groups, managed by religious organisations will be used for promoting the MR campaign.
Youth wings of respective religious bodies will also be roped in to spread messages supporting the vaccination drive.
Mr. Meena said that the intensive work being undertaken by health
officials in the district had won the appreciation of Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan. He said the success of the ongoing vaccine campaign depended greatly on the cooperation of religious organisations.
Health officials have already reached out to more than 4.07 lakh
children in the district with the MR vaccine.
Among those who attended the meeting were P. Moideen Faizi (Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama), C. Kunhimohammed Madani Parappur and T. Husain Kavanur (Wisdom Global Mission), M. Sulfikar Saqafi (Madin Academy), N.K. Sadaruddin (Jamat-e-Islami), P.K. Abdulla Haji (Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen), Madappilapalli Parameswaran Namboothiri, C.
Mohammed (Integrated Medical Brotherhood), P.K. Latheef Faizi (Sunni Yuvajana Sangham), Fr. Ajeesh Abraham Koshi, Fr. Reshin Renauld, V.V. Robinson, P.A. Nasar, District Medical Officer K. Sakeena, and National Health Mission district programme manager A. Shibulal and programme officer Abbas.