Rotavirus vaccination picks up after initial lag

After a severe lag when it was introduced in 2019, rotavirus vaccinations have picked up in Karnataka with a coverage of around 94% now. But coverage is least in Bengaluru city, hovering around
60-70%.

Rotavirus, responsible for over 40% of moderate and severe diarrhoeal diseases in India, is estimated to cause 1.5 lakh children’s deaths in India annually.

The vaccine was made part of the universal immunisation programme in Karnataka in 2019, after which all children were supposed to receive the three-course vaccine. But the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) of 2019-20 showed that only 6% of the target population was vaccinated. In Bengaluru, the coverage was 11%.

Dr Naveen Bhat, mission director of National Health Mission-Karnataka (NHM), said they were able to increase coverage by clubbing the rotavirus vaccine with the routine pentavalent vaccination, both of which have to be taken when the child is six, 10 and 14 months old. The higher acceptance of oral vaccines was another reason, he said.

The NHM’s data for 2022-23 and April-June 2023 shows that the coverage crossed 90% of the target in all districts, excluding BBMP limits, Chamarajanagar, Vijayapura, Ramanagara and Vijayanagar. The vaccination target is set for each district based on the expected number of live births, Dr Bhat said. Several districts have crossed their targets
too.

The lag has been highest in BBMP, with only 67-69% covered under the three courses in 2022-23. Bengaluru also had the highest target population of children among all districts that year, at 1.9 lakh which could mean a large number of children were left out.

In April-June 2023 too, coverage in BBMP ranged from 58-61% of the target for that quarter.

Dr Bhat said that migration could be a reason for the low coverage, with migrants possibly taking the vaccination from their home districts. Lack of awareness, and private clinics not uploading their vaccination data, are cited as other reasons.

Dr Basavaraj, president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, said rotavirus vaccination reduces severe disease and death by 80-90%. “Though there was a lag during Covid, vaccination is picking up now,” he
added.