JOIN USThe health ministry on Saturday launched oral vaccine for rotavirus, the dreaded diarrhoea which claims millions of infants across the globe every year.
It kills thousands of small children in India annually. The vaccine was launched under the universal immunization programme in four states - Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, which will be extended to other states subsequently.
Inaugurating the nationwide launch of the vaccine at a special function here, Union Health Minister J P Nadda described it as a milestone in the country’s public healthcare sector. “It is a historic occasion. It will greatly help in reducing infant mortality rate in the country”, he said.
According to official sources, the killer diarrhoea claims lives of nearly 80,000 children in the country every year. Nearly ten lakh children get affected by it annually.