Nagpur: Many city doctors are expressing concerns about the emergency back up plans in place for the Central government’s vaccination campaign in schools for rubella and measles.
Paediatricians said that whilst they fully supported the vaccination campaign, it must include plans to deal with emergencies arising out of reaction to any vaccine. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) that’s spearheading the programme says there is no reason to worry as all procedures are being followed as per international norms.
Senior paediatrician Dr Uday Bodhankar said a monitoring system had to be in place to ensure students did not suffer from side effects of the vaccine. “Two things must be kept in mind. First is that children’s medical history must be collected to understand allergies plus what vaccines they have taken already. Second is that doctors must remain in the school premises after vaccination to take care of students who do suffer from side effects,” he said.
All doctors TOI spoke to clarified that the side effects they were worried about was a general concern and not be linked specifically to rubella and measles vaccine. Dr Rajiv Mohta, paediatrician and adolescent counsellor, said side effects were a result of two things during vaccination. “Body can react to needle’s prick and to the antigens that are part of all vaccines. Cases of more visible strong side effects are rare, one in a few thousands. To be able to deal with that one rare case, you need a doctor certified and trained in managing life saving emergency,” he added.
The vaccination programme is due to start from last week of November in Nagpur in all schools. TOI spoke to a World Health Organization (WHO) official who said that parents should rest assured as all procedures were being followed.
Dr Mohd. Sajid told TOI that following internationally accepted medical procedures had ensured success of the government programme so far. “We have vaccinated 9.6 crore children in 21 states and till date I have not heard of a single emergency case. At every school, apart from a doctor there will be an auxiliary and midwifery (A&M) trained staff to deal with emergencies,” he said.
“There will be mobile medical van that the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya team will be handling and will be in constant touch with A&M staff at schools. I can assure all parents the process is safe and is being conducted with coordination of 15 government departments,” he added.
