34 lakh children to be vaccinated during MR campaign beginning tomorrow

The government is set to launch a special measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign across the country tomorrow with a target of bringing about 34 lakh unvaccinated children aged six months to below five years under the vaccination coverage.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain will inaugurate the campaign titled ‘Intensified MR Catch-up Vaccination’ as the chief guest at the T&T playground at Korail in the city’s Banani area at 9:00am tomorrow.

State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr MA Muhit will join the inaugural function as the special guest.

Earlier, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain at a press conference on Sunday said that the children who did not receive the vaccine or were missed during the ongoing measles-rubella campaign would be identified and vaccinated under the special campaign, which will continue until 31 October.

“At the same time, children who have reached six months of age during this period and are newly eligible for the vaccine will also be brought under vaccination coverage,” he said.

Noting that the government has taken various measures to control infections and protect children following the outbreak of measles in the country this year, Sakhawat said the measles-rubella vaccination campaign has been conducted in phases since April.\

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According to the Integrated Control Room of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), around 1,98,55,274 children have received the vaccine till 24 September under the National Measles-Rubella (MR) Vaccination Campaign 2026.

The health minister said during the special vaccination programme, children who have been missed from vaccination would be listed and arrangements would be made to vaccinate them.

“Through this process, efforts will also be made to identify children who are outside the existing lists or previous campaign data,” Sakhawat said, adding as part of the special campaign, health workers and volunteers will visit households to verify the vaccination status of children.