'Measles immunisation yet to be satisfactory, still a threat in Maharashtra'

MUMBAI: Immunising children against measles with an additional dose has yet to be satisfactory in the state's outbreak areas, despite districts being asked to identify and deliver in a campaign mode, Dr Subhash Salunkhe, head of the state task force for the viral disease said. He called on districts to spread the word and vigorously push parents to get their children vaccinated as the threat of the spread has not subsided.
The public health department's numbers bear the sub-par response to additional vaccination. On January 4, just 2,76,180 (55%) of the five lakh children identified across nearly a dozen districts to receive an extra shot had taken it. State officials called the number dynamic and asserted that more kids are being covered daily, but task force members believe the coverage should have been much higher by now.
"We should have crossed 95% coverage in the outbreak areas by now," said Dr Salunkhe, adding that the additional vaccination was meant to be carried out in a campaign mode. The first phase of the special campaign in the rest of Maharashtra ended on December 25 while the second phase starts on January 15. "While the overall situation of newer cases and deaths appear to be under control, we are not entirely happy with the vaccination numbers," he told TOI. An 11-member measles task force was formed early in December to steer a coordinated response to the unfolding outbreak in the state that started with Mumbai and gradually spread to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and later to other districts. Dr Salunkhe said the task force can only make a recommendation to the public health department, which holds the authority to pursue districts to meet targets. "The recent fear of a spike in Covid cases briefly distracted the measles campaign, which we hope will return to a better pace," he added.
Mumbai is seeing a decline in daily detections, from a high of 170-plus suspected cases in a day, it dropped to 13 on Thursday.