Odisha govt to launch Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine under universal immunization programme

Bhubaneswar (Odisha), June 25,2021: The Odisha Government on Thursday said that it will launch Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) under the universal immunisation programme on June 30.
“The introduction of PCV in the routine immunization will benefit nearly 8 lakh young children annually in the State and it will help in reducing the risk of morbidity and mortality due to pneumonia and meningitis among children in the State”, said the additional Chief Secretary PK Mohapatra in a letter to district and municipal authorities.
On December 28, 2020, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had inaugurated India’s first Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in a bid to prevent about 67,800 child mortality under 5 years of age in India from pneumococcal diseases every year. The vaccine has been developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.