New Delhi: The center on Friday launched the national expansion of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Program (PCV), which is expected to reduce child mortality by around 60%.
Pneumonia and diarrhea are the two main causes of death among children.
“Pneumonia caused by Pneumococcus is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in children.
In India, around 16% of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia.
The national PCV launch will reduce child mortality around 60%,” said Minister of Health Mansukh Mandaviya .
In 2016-18, India launched a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in five states – Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan – who contributed almost half of Indian’s annual birth cohort.
Expansion of programs outside the five pilot countries will save lives more than 50,000 children every year.
This program will also use an accidentally developed vaccine.
Mandaviya, who also released a conscious package on the PCV which will be shared with the state and the United States, said it was for the first time a vaccine was available for universal use.