A vaccine is a medicine that helps our body create antibodies to one or more diseases. These antibodies help your body to recognize and fight the harmful viruses or bacteria that can cause diseases. Antibodies are your immune system’s best protection against disease.
By getting vaccinated, you don’t have to get sick with the disease in order to get antibodies. Vaccines help our body get ready to attack the disease before we even come into contact with it. Vaccines prevent us from getting sick easily.
The ultimate goal of World Immunization Week is for more children, adults and entire communities to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, allowing them to live a happier and healthier life. The Week, being celebrated from 24-28 April 2023, highlights that collective action is necessary to protect people from vaccine-preventable diseases. The theme of the World Immunization Week this year is “The Big Catch-Up”, said Dr Saurabh Kole, Cardiologist & Medical Co-Ordinator, Belle Vue Clinic, & Founder-President, Indian Society for Adult Immunization.
“We need to act as per the theme to catch up with the millions of children and adults who missed out on vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic. We must restore essential immunization coverage to at least 2019 levels and strengthen primary health care to deliver immunization.” Dr Kole said: “Immunization is the key component of primary health care and is one of the best investments in support of a healthier and safer world. We have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages.” Shri Pradip Tondon, CEO, Belle Vue Clinic, said: “This is the first time when the corporate sector has got involved in such an awareness campaign, including delivery of some vaccination services free of cost. The theme of this year is “The Big Catch Up” and we feel that, this awareness generation and vaccinating the missed cases & the hesitant cases, is part of our social obligation.” Dr Kole further said: “Infectious diseases caused by viruses or bacteria that can be prevented through vaccination are known as vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). These VPDs are still one of the major culprits for causing deaths in children under the age of 5 years. Immunization can help curb VPDs in children and other infectious diseases in adults, including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, COVID-19, influenza, pneumonia, cancer, Hepatitis B etc.”
“The Word Immunization Week 2023 is being celebrated by the Indian Society of Adult Immunization with the active support of Belle Vue Clinic. We have planned several programmes to generate awareness among healthcare workers, priority groups & the general public. The campaign was kicked off by creating awareness among the nursing students of the Priyamvada Birla Institute of Nursing (PBIN), Rajarhat, New Town, Kolkata. They were made aware of the importance of Hepatitis B vaccina
tion among health care workers. The programme was attended by more than 300 students at the PBIN campus.” There will be a doctors’ programme and a senior citizens awareness programme (online) on adult immunization at Belle Vue Clinic on 28 April 2023. Another doctors’ programme (online) with national & international faculties will take place on 30 April 2023. Dr. Arkaprobha Sarkar, Dr. Debdutta Haldar and Dr K Kowsalya of the Indian Society for Adult Immunization interacted with the media on vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).
