MUMBAI: Congress MLA Amin Patel on Thursday called a meeting of a group of Muslim parents, civic officials and doctors to assuage fears of parents reluctant to get school-going children immunised against
measles
and rubella viruses. The doctors told the parents that the
vaccine
for measles and rubella (MR) are WHO-qualified and there are almost no adverse effects of the vaccination.
"A number of parents told me that they were scared as there are rumours that children who get these vaccines might grow to become impotent/infertile or develop serious side effects. They are also worried about why children need to be kept for 30 minutes under observation if it was only a vaccine. I decided to facilitate a face-to-face of parents with doctors and BMC officials," said Patel, after a meeting at Dongri.
Dr Vivek Pardesi of WHO said out of 30 lakh children in the city in the age group of nine months to 15 years, 20 lakh would be covered through a measles and rubella vaccination campaign to begin on November 27. Assistant health officer (BMC) Dr Chandresekhar Chiplunkar said all schools, aided, non-aided, government and private, will be covered by the vaccination.
The campaign, which began on February 7, 2017, has covered 21 states and immunised 10.5 crore children in the country. "The rumours are misleading that our children will grow into impotent or infertile individuals. We must shake off such unfounded fears," said paediatrician Dr Moatasim Solkar.