To arrest the deadly pneumonia infection amongst the kids and boost their immunity to fight the COVID-19, the Odisha government on Wednesday launched a special vaccination drive to reduce the child fatality due to pneumonia.

The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) inoculation will enhance children’s immunity level stronger and it is likely to protect them from the possible third wave of COVID-19, the health officials said.

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The PCV will benefit nearly 8 lakh young children annually and will reduce the risk of illness and death due to severe pneumonia.

Each child will require three doses of the vaccine – the first dose at 6 weeks of age, the second at 14 weeks and a booster dose at 9 months of age in order to get full protection from pneumonia which is one of the leading causes of deaths among children below 5 years of age, said Bijay Kumar Panigrahy, Director, Health and Family Welfare.

The vaccine will be administered to children as part of the Routine Immunization schedule. The first two doses at 6 weeks and 14 weeks will be combined with Oral Polio vaccine, Rota vaccine, Pentavalent, fPV. For the booster dose, this vaccine will be given to the child at 9 months along with measles, Vitamin A and JE.