New Delhi, Feb 7 (Agency) In a move to achieve 100 per cent universal immunization, the Centre on Monday launched an Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0. “India is implementing the largest immunization programme globally where we annually cover more than 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children through the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP),” Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. He was launching IMI 4.0 virtually in the presence of health officials of States and Union Territories. IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts (including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) across 33 States/UTs in the country. The Health Ministry said that the first round of IMI will be conducted between February and April in 11 states including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Chhattisgarh.
The remaining 22 states will conduct the next rounds from April to May 2022, it added. Highlighting the important role of vaccines in public health, the Minister highlighted the achievements of the countrywide Covid-19 vaccination drive under which around 170 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered till date. “Only with the collective and collaborative efforts of the Centre, the States and beneficiaries shall we be able to achieve the target of full immunization coverage in the country,” he stated. Mandaviya expects IMI 4.0 to also address the gaps in the routine immunisation services the Covid-19 pandemic has brought in.