Lessons from India’s vaccination drive, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• India's Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) is the world's largest, vaccinating 2.6 crore infants and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually.
• Under-5 mortality declined from 45 to 31 per 1,000 live births between 2014 and 2021 due to the UIP.
• Mission Indradhanush (MI), launched in 2014, and Intensified MI (IMI), launched in 2017, have vaccinated 5.46 crore children and 1.32 crore pregnant women by 2023.
• India maintained its polio-free status since 2011 and achieved maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in 2015.
• Over 220 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered by January 2023, covering 97% of citizens with one dose and 90% with both doses.
• India received the Measles and Rubella Champion Award on March 6, 2024, for its efforts in the South-East Asia Region.

Detailed Insights:

• The UIP offers free immunisation against 12 diseases, including the recent additions of Tetanus and Adult Diphtheria, Inactivated Poliovirus, Measles-Rubella, Rotavirus, Pneumococcal Conjugate, and Japanese Encephalitis.
• MI and IMI phases were integrated into campaigns like the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan to improve outreach and increase full immunisation coverage which was 62% in 2014.
• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine immunisation services, leading to measles outbreaks between 2022 and 2024, which prompted the IMI 5.0 in 2023 targeting children under five.
• India uses the U-WIN platform for digital vaccination records, building on the success of CO-WIN, and also uses the electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network for vaccine stock management.
• Through the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India supported low and middle-income countries, reflecting the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, and has become the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing hub.
• Future strategies include linking disease surveillance with immunisation efforts under a ONE-HEALTH lens, integrating surveillance of human, animal, and environmental systems.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP): A government program providing free vaccines against multiple diseases to infants and pregnant women.
• Mission Indradhanush (MI): An initiative to achieve 90% immunisation coverage by focusing on high-risk areas and populations.
• Vaccine Maitri: An initiative to supply COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle-income countries, showcasing India's global health diplomacy.
• Herd Immunity: A form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection.