{"id":69419,"date":"2026-03-19T18:24:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=69419"},"modified":"2026-03-19T18:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:56:19","slug":"national-vaccination-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-03-2026\/national-vaccination-day","title":{"rendered":"National Vaccination Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health; GS3\/Science and Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India marked <strong>National Vaccination Day<\/strong> (March 16) to highlight achievements in immunisation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The day is observed to commemorate the <strong>first dose <\/strong>of the <strong>Oral Polio Vaccine <\/strong>administered in 1995 under the Pulse Polio Programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vaccination has played a transformative role in improving public health in India. The country has eradicated <strong>smallpox (1977) <\/strong>and eliminated <strong>polio (last case in 2011)<\/strong>, yaws, and maternal &amp; neonatal tetanus.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has significantly reduced child mortality and the burden of diseases such as measles-rubella and tuberculosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India emerged as th<strong>e \u201cpharmacy of the world\u201d during COVID-19<\/strong>, administering over 200 crore vaccine doses and supplying vaccines globally. Notably, India contributes nearly 60% of global vaccine production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c7e2eb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-110.png\" alt=\"national vaccination day\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-69420\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c7e2eb; aspect-ratio:1.6393649990512933;width:383px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-110.png 600w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-110-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c4d7e5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-111.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-69421\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c4d7e5; width:272px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-111.png 576w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-111-200x300.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Outcomes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vaccination along with improvements in nutrition, sanitation, and healthcare, has significantly improved maternal and child survival rates in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Full immunisation coverage increased from 62% (2015) to 98.4% (January 2026);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Zero-dose children reduced from 0.11% (2023) to 0.06% (2024);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over 1.3 crore immunisation sessions conducted annually;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recognised globally as a model for large-scale public health delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Universal Immunisation Programme:<\/strong> Launched in 1985 and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it aims to provide free vaccines to children and pregnant women against various diseases.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The programme reaches about 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.54 crore newborns every year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission Indradhanush: <\/strong>It was launched in <strong>December 2014<\/strong> by the Government of India to reach children and pregnant women who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recent Initiatives (2026)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>HPV Vaccination Campaign:<\/strong> Targets ~<strong>1.15 crore girls (14 years)<\/strong> for cervical cancer prevention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indigenous Td Vaccine:<\/strong> Manufactured at <strong>CRI, Kasauli<\/strong>; ~<strong>55 lakh doses<\/strong> planned for supply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Initiatives:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>eVIN:<\/strong> Real-time vaccine stock and temperature tracking;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>U-Win:<\/strong> Digital vaccination registry and tracking platform;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>CoWIN:<\/strong> Enabled administration of 220+ crore COVID vaccine doses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Vaccine hesitancy and misinformation: <\/strong>Despite high coverage, pockets of resistance persist due to misinformation and cultural beliefs, contributing to the presence of zero-dose children (~0.06% in 2024), especially in certain regions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Last-mile delivery gaps: <\/strong>Reaching remote, tribal, and conflict-affected areas remains difficult, even though India conducts over <strong>1.3 crore immunisation sessions annually<\/strong> under the UIP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cold chain maintenance issues: <\/strong>India operates one of the largest vaccine cold chain systems with ~<strong>30,000 cold chain points<\/strong> and over <strong>1.06 lakh equipment units<\/strong>, making uninterrupted temperature maintenance in difficult terrains a logistical challenge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Urban slum coverage gaps: <\/strong>High population mobility and informal settlements in urban areas lead to missed or partially immunised children, posing challenges for achieving universal coverage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2241066&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India marked National Vaccination Day (March 16) to highlight achievements in immunisation. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Vaccination has played a transformative role in improving public health in India. The country has eradicated smallpox (1977) and eliminated polio (last case in 2011), yaws, and maternal &#038; neonatal tetanus.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It has significantly reduced child mortality and the burden of diseases such as measles-rubella and tuberculosis. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India emerged as the \u201cpharmacy of the world\u201d during COVID-19, administering over 200 crore vaccine doses and supplying vaccines globally. Notably, India contributes nearly 60% of global vaccine production. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-03-2026\/national-vaccination-day \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69425,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69419\/revisions\/69425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}