Shilpa Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Yadgir Zilla Panchayat, has said that pneumonia can cause death in humans if treatment was not given at the appropriate stage.
She was speaking after inaugurating a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine drive in Yadgir on Saturday.
Ms. Sharma, who inaugurated the drive formally by administering vaccine to five children, said, “pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is given as a shot to children in three stages. The first stage is six weeks from their birth, the second is 14 weeks, and the final stage is 9 months. We have set a target of 2,882 children for the vaccination”.
Habib Husman, Deputy Director of Kalaburagi division, said that pneumococcal conjugate vaccination can prevent 80% of deaths among children.
Thus, officials of the department should ensure that vaccination was administered to the children according to the target.
Indumati K., District Health Officer, who presided over the programme, said that pneumococcal disease refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria.
Pneumococcal bacteria are one of the most common causes of pneumonia. The Government has ensured the vaccination to the children as it will help prevent pneumococcal disease. People should get the benefit of the drive and join hands with officials of the Health department to prevent possible deaths by pneumonia, she appealed.