Measles & Rubella Vaccination Campaign in India: Why, How, When and Where

Globally, in 2015, measles killed an estimated 1,34,200 children - mostly under-5 years of age and an estimated 49,200 deaths occurred due to measles in India. Most of these children were the ones who have not received two doses of measles vaccine. This is despite the fact that the Government of India is providing vaccines free of cost under the Universal Immunization Programme. Even today some of the children in the country are not protected against the deadly life-threatening diseases. Some of these children are left unvaccinated because their parents are hesitant to immunise, believes that vaccines are dangerous. (1