Immunization status in children.
OBJECTIVE
Recent studies and surveys are observing a declining trend of routine immunization coverage and fully immunized children in India are reported to be 38%. A rapid assessment technique was used on National Immunization Day (PPI) to assess the immunization status among children in the age group of 12-23 months covering urban, rural and slum areas in UT, Chandigarh.


METHODS
The study covered 796 children in proportion of their distribution in urban, rural and slum areas.


RESULTS
Evaluation recorded fully immunized children as 72.23%, partially immunized as 22.99% and unimmunized as 4.64%. Only 58.66% children in urban slums were fully immunized. The overall coverage for various vaccines was BCG: 93.09%, DPT1/OPV1: 93.97%, DPT2/OPV2: 90.57%, DPT3/OPV3: 85.92% and measles: 76%. No sex-wise difference was noticed in the study.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts must be made to strengthen routine immunization programme especially in the underprivileged groups and areas such as slum in cities so that target of universal coverage can be achieved as envisaged at national level.
Bhatia
Vikas
V
Department of Community Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Chandigarh, India. drbhatiav@yahoo.com
Swami
H M
HM
Rai
Sanjay R
SR
Gulati
Sangeeta
S
Verma
Anita
A
Parashar
Anupam
A
Kumari
Renu
R
D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population