Tetanus Plus vaccination campaign kicks off in Hailakandi

Dec.14: Tetanus Plus Vaccination Campaign (TPVC) kicked off in Hailakandi district here on Monday. Deputy Commissioner, Megh Nidhi Dahal, ceremonially launched the 20-day vaccination campaign at a function held at the SK Roy Civil Hospital premises in the morning in the presence of district and health officials, health functionaries, children and their parents.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner, Dahal said unlike in the past when people died due to minor diseases like tetanus and diphtheria, ‘vaccination now begins when a child is born to attaining adulthood through routine immunisation’.

Appreciation the efforts of the health functionaries for rendering a very difficult task to keep the vaccination cold chain intact by maintaining proper temperature, Dahal urged the parents to get their children immunised against tetanus and diphtheria to safeguard them against the diseases. “Though there might be fever and other symptoms following immunisation, there’s nothing to fear or panic as this is quite normal as the immune system takes some time to respond’, he quipped.

Terming the tetanus plus vaccination as clinically tested internationally and safe with no side effects, Dahal urged the people to contact the nearest health centre in case of any problem following immunisation of their children.
Dahal called for greater community participation by extending all help and support to the health teams for making the vaccination campaign a success and making the new generation free from diseases.

Additional Deputy Commissioner, Health, Narendra Kumar Shah, Joint Director, Health Services, Dr. Ashutosh Barman, Additional Chief Medical and Health Officer, Rehana Begum and District Immunisation Officer, KYS Rangmei also spoke on the occasion. Later Deputy Commissioner, Dahal gave away certificates to immunised children.

An awareness rally on TPVC was brought out on Sunday morning from the premises of SK Roy Civil Hospital. The rally consisting of health officials and functionaries traversed through the main thoroughfares of Hailakandi town. 33,351 children in the age group of 10 and 16 plus will be covered in the district under the vaccination drive. The 20-day campaign taken up on a mission mode will have a total of 924 sessions, including 111 fixed sessions.