On the direction of Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan, the Ministry of Health has decided to include the HPV vaccine in the national immunization programme to prevent cervical cancer, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
In this regard, an integrated strategy to make the HPV vaccine a part of the immunization programme has been chalked out.
Dr. Jan said that in the first phase, 400 health centers of high risk areas are being shifted to solar energy. Later, other centers will also be shifted to it.
He said that the National Electronic Immunization Registry is being launched that will help improve the performance of the programme.
Under the National Electronic Immunization Registry, each child's immunization data will be kept in the system. Parents of the child will receive an alert regarding the date of their child's vaccination and they can find out which vaccine their child needs to get.
The minister said under this system, the organization can also monitor the attendance and performance of its vaccinator. Practical steps are being taken to make the immunization programme 100% successful.
Dr. Jan said that the immunization programme is rapidly moving towards Universal Health Coverage and all necessary steps are being taken to ensure it. He said that the initiative aims to ensure that no child remains deprived of vaccination across the country.
The minister said since he took charge of the health ministry, he held three meetings with the head of the FDI. He said he gave him important tasks to improve the immunization programme.
Covid-19 vaccine booster drive
The process of administering Covid-19 vaccine boosters is facing a serious go-slow approach as only 52.1 million booster doses have been administered across the country so far.
Punjab ranks first in the Covid-19 vaccine booster drive while Balochistan province stands in the last.
According to health officials, 41 percent of eligible population has got the Covid-19 vaccine boosters.
Reporter Kifayat Ali Shah