Imphal : Manipur government launched nationwide Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 5.0 with the aim of covering 3,48,023 individuals including 46, 561 pregnant women in these three rounds across all districts of the state.Launching the mission at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, on Monday, the Manipur health Minister Dr Sapam Ranjan said that the IMI 5.0 is a vaccine catch-up campaign that focuses on reaching zero-dose children between 0 and 5 years and pregnant women who might have missed any vaccine doses in the national immunization schedule.

The Mission is set to be completed in three rounds starting from August 7 across the 16 districts of the State, the minister said.The first round will continue till August 12 while the second round will be conducted from September 11 to 16 and the third round from October 9 to 14 this year, he said.

The 3-round immunization program helps children up to five years and pregnant women fight as many as 12 diseases. The Directorate targets to cover all 3,48,023 individuals including 46, 561 pregnant women in these three rounds, he said.

The Minister said, “Through these three rounds of vaccination, we aim to build a healthy society, free from any vaccine-preventable diseases among our children.” He also appealed to all pregnant women and parents to avail of the facility and make the program successful.

They will also reach out to children and pregnant women in relief camps, he added.The minister observed that some people skip their latter doses after getting their first dose and appealed to all to complete the specified number of doses to receive the full benefit of the vaccination program.The pregnant women who received all three doses have a very high chance of delivering exceptionally healthy babies, the minister added.