In May, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Delhi began a campaign to administer BCG vaccine to residents of five districts in Delhi. The initiative was aimed at people with higher risk — those with weak immunity, including smokers and diabetics, those exposed to TB patients, and those unsure of prior vaccination. Almost four months later, only 50,000 beneficiaries have been vaccinated so far. The reason: hesitation on part of the residents, according to officials.
“We aim to target around 10 lakh people but due to lack of awareness, not many are coming forward,” said an official from the state health department.
“For now, these (the beneficiaries) are people living in close proximity with those suffering from tuberculosis (TB),” the official added. This campaign is part of a central government-monitored study to understand the impact of the BCG vaccine in preventing TB among adults.
The campaign has been targeting people at higher risk — those with weak immunity (smokers, diabetics), those exposed to TB patients, and those unsure of prior vaccination.
The state health department has deployed Asha workers, Anganwadi workers, and district-level healthcare staff in door-to-door activities in the five districts. The five revenue districts of Delhi where the vaccination programme is being conducted include New Delhi, North-East, West, East, and South — designated as focal points — with six additional districts serving as control areas.
An official from the DGHS said the results that have been compiled so far show positive trends.
“The only side effect that we have seen is the small red areas at the site of injection. They slowly decrease in size and disappear after about 6 months,” an official said.
The programme is a part of the project being run by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Health Research (DHR).
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