Jalandhar district achieves over 90% of child vaccination target for ages 0 to 1.5

The recently concluded Special Vaccination Week, held from November 10 to 17, 2025, by the health department in Jalandhar, highlighted the district's multi-fold immunisation programme aimed at protecting children from various diseases.

The week was observed to promote immunisation targets and raise awareness about the importance of vaccination drives. For 2025, Jalandhar has set a target to vaccinate 29,616 children between the ages of 0 to 1.5 years, with over 90 per cent of this target already achieved, officials informed. Apart from primary childhood immunisation, tetanus vaccines for children at ages 5, 10 and 16 are administered under the school health programme, while ante-natal tetanus vaccinations are provided to pregnant women. However, the programme primarily focuses on children aged 0 to 1.5 years as its foundational effort.

A dedicated workforce of 225 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and 1,400 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) canvassed the district to carry out immunisation drives. The primary vaccines administered include BCG, Penta 1, Penta 3, MR-1 and MR-2, with many of the targets not only met but exceeded in certain cases.

While the Penta 1 and Penta 3 vaccines achieved 90 per cent and 90.7 per cent coverage respectively, MR-1 vaccination recorded the highest response at 104 per cent of the target population. MR-2 vaccination reached 100 per cent, and BCG vaccination achieved 97 per cent coverage.

District Vaccination Officer Dr Rakesh Chopra appealed to residents to ensure their children and pregnant women received vaccinations. He said the programme aims to protect the population, especially pregnant women and children, from serious diseases. He added that during Special Vaccination Week, children and pregnant women who had missed previous vaccinations were covered, with lists of drop-out and left-out individuals prepared and action plans implemented to ensure no one is deprived in the future.

Special attention continues to be given to new-borns in high-risk areas, including slums, kilns and Gujjar camps. Dr Chopra also stated that efforts are ongoing to eliminate measles and rubella by December 2026. Population targets are adjusted according to migratory populations within the district.