Tamil Nadu Health dept to send SMS alerts on vax schedule to pregnant women

Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Friday said the SMS alert will remind pregnant women and lactating mothers about the vaccination schedule and prompt them to follow the same. A total of Rs 22 lakh has been allotted for the same.

About 10.11 lakh pregnant mothers and 9.23 lakh children benefit from the Immunisation Programme every year and these vaccines protect children from 12 diseases. In Tamil Nadu, about 95 per cent of children have received all the vaccines according to the Health Information Management Programme (HMIS) report. Also, 89.2 per cent of mothers have been vaccinated.

“In order to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of pregnant women, lactating mothers and newborns, the SMS alerts will be sent 25 times under the PICME in Tamil Nadu, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said.

The alerts will be given upon registration within 12 weeks of the pregnancy, five reviews in 16th, 20th, 26th, 30th and 34th week. The other four alerts will be given in the 36th, 37th, 38th and 39th week. Two alerts will be given when the grant under the Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy assistance scheme is credited.