RAIPUR: Media is a powerful medium to convey information to the people and make them aware. These have a good reach and are part of people's everyday life, said Director, Epidemic Control Dr. Subhash Mishra on Thursday.

He was addressing the workshop organised jointly by the State Government's Health Department and UNICEF to sensitize media persons about vaccination, IMI (Intensified Mission Indradhanush) 5.0 and U-Win portal.

He said that vaccination can prevent death and disability of children.

“We must protect children as much as we can through vaccines. It protects them from diseases. Children should get all the vaccines included in the routine immunization schedule for good immunity and good health,” he added.

State Immunization Officer Dr. V.R. Bhagat said vaccination of every child up to the age of five who were left out of vaccination would be ensured. The campaign will be conducted in three phases across the state.

The first phase will run from August 7 to August 12, the second phase from September 11 to September 16 and the third phase from October 9 to October 14. The children who have been missed in routine vaccination will be vaccinated during the campaign. He said that in IMI 5.0 special emphasis is being laid on the elimination of measles and rubella.

Job Zachariah, Chief of UNICEF, Chhattisgarh said every year 5 million children under the age of five die in the whole world, out of which 1.5 million children are those who are away from vaccines.

He said that there is hesitation, confusion and misconceptions among people regarding vaccination. Due to some adverse events also many times people do not come for vaccination. The media can play an important role in removing these barriers to ensure that every child has access to all vaccines.

Anshuman Moitra, State Program Officer, UNDP, gave information about U-Win, a portal designed for record keeping and reporting of vaccinations. Digital certificate is issued immediately after vaccination through U-Win.