Good news!! Health & Wellness Centres/HWCs across TN to have vaccinations services on all Wednesdays!!
Improving vaccination coverage and reducing drop outs would be the main objective for the Directorate of Public Health DPH and Preventive Medicine in TN.
For this, the DPH has taken an initiative to make sure that the vaccination services would be available on all Wednesdays at the health and wellness centres or HWC`s in the state. There are 4848 health and wellness centres in the rural areas and 500 HWCs in the urban areas in TN.
It must be noted that this would be in addition to the existing outreach sessions as per the press release issued in line with the National Vaccination Day2025.
It must be recalled that in 1978 TN started the Expanded Programme on Immunisation against 6 vaccine preventable diseases or VPD. In 1985, it was strengthened as the Universal Immunisation Programme or UIP. Information gathered is that under UIP 11 vaccines are being given to children and pregnant mothers against 12 VPDs. Under the programme, every year 9.58lak pregnant mothers and 8.76lakhs infants are covered. This has been brought out in a release by Dr. T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health.
There has been consistent immunisation coverage of 98percent across TN and this was possible due to the superb efforts taken by the public health staff. He added that there has been an average coverage of 1.4cr vaccine doses per year. Both as outreach as well as institutional services, immunisation services have been conducted in TN.
Institutional services are available on all the days of the week at medical college hospitals and on every Wednesday at primary health centres or PHCs or urban primary health centres or UPHCs. It must be taken into account that outreach immunisation services are available in all towns and villages in identified anganwadis and public places etc.
Point is that on the National Vaccination Day on 16th March the Directorate has requested the public to support ensure age appropriate vaccination for the children and pregnant woman as per the National immunisation Schedule available on the website of the directorate that is www.tndphpm.com. Vaccination would be available free of cost at all govt institutions and at outreach sessions etc.
