Now, SMS alerts to remind parents to vaccinate kids

With a view to achieving full immunisation across the country, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has launched SMS alerts to remind parents to vaccinate their children on particular dates. Designed at the national level, SMS alerts will be sent for free without any registration charges.

Messages will be sent to parents till their children reach 12 years. To avail the service, parents have to first register themselves with IAP database by sending an SMS to 566778, conveying the baby’s name and date of birth. They will receive an immediate confirmation text message. Three reminders will be sent on the registered number two days before the due date of vaccination.

To commemorate World Immunisation Week (April 24-30), IAP organised a programme titled “Close the Immunisation Gap” in Mumbai on Thursday. Speaking at the programme, medical experts said that only 51.6 per cent of Indian children below two years of age receive timely recommended vaccinations across the country. Further, over 1.5 million deaths are recorded annually, which can be stopped through proper vaccination.

Dr Pramod Jog, National IAP President, said, “In India, the percentage of children between 12 and 23 months of age who receive all recommended vaccines on time is very low. A major reason is that parents do not maintain a vaccination calendar and often forget to vaccinate their children on time in a disciplined manner. This default is observed in both urban and rural areas.”

Dr Uday Pai, Consultant Paediatrician, said, “No child should be denied the right to immunisation for unfair reasons, including economic or social causes.”