Worldwide, pneumonia is the largest cause of death in children under age 5 years. As per National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), around 1,78,994 children died due to pneumonia. Around 70% of pneumonia cases reported in India are from Bihar, UP, MP and Rajasthan. To fight with these constantly increasing cases of pneumonia, India has introduced the biggest drive vaccination campaign for pneumonia i.e. Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in 2017.
This drive was started with those states that have a higher number of cases. For the prevention of pneumococcal disease, there are two different vaccines used. PCV 13- PCV is safe and effective for protection against pneumonia, meningitis and other diseases caused by the pneumococcus bacteria. This vaccine can be administered to children at 6 weeks, 14 weeks and 9 months of age. PPSV23- It is recommended for children and adults who have a high…
