Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TH
Context: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India’s coverage rate for the DPT3 vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) reached an all-time high of 93% in 2022.
- This surpassed the pre-pandemic best of 91% in 2019 and showed a significant increase from the 85% recorded in 2021. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, the DPT3 coverage rate also recovered to pre-pandemic levels at 91% in 2022, up from 82% in 2021.
Key Findings:
- The region also witnessed improvements in the coverage of the measles vaccine, which rose to 92% in 2022 from 86% in 2021.
- The number of zero-dose children (those who haven’t received any dose of the DPT vaccine) halved to 2.3 million in 2022 from 4.6 million in 2021, while the number of partially vaccinated children decreased to 650,000 in 2022 from 1.3 million in 2021.
- India and Indonesia were credited for the region’s strong immunization recoveries, as they made significant efforts to improve vaccination rates.
- The report highlighted the importance of closing gaps in immunization coverage at the subnational level to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
About DTP:
DTP vaccine can prevent diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. Diphtheria and pertussis spread from person to person. Tetanus enters the body through cuts or wounds.
- DIPHTHERIA (D)can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death.
- TETANUS (T)causes painful stiffening of the muscles. Tetanus can lead to serious health problems, including being unable to open the mouth, having trouble swallowing and breathing, or death.
- PERTUSSIS (aP), also known as “whooping cough,” can cause uncontrollable, violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe, eat, or drink. Pertussis can be extremely serious especially in babies and young children, causing pneumonia, convulsions, brain damage, or death. In teens and adults, it can cause weight loss, loss of bladder control, passing out, and rib fractures from severe coughing.
