• The reported cases of vaccine-preventable diseases Diphtheria, Japanese Encephalitis, Pertussis, and Rubella have continued to increase since their fall in 2021, with a marked rise in measles cases from a reported 5700 in 2021 to 65,150 in 2023.

• This reflects the inadequate immunization coverage following the COVID-19 pandemic health system disruptions, leading to outbreaks.

• The trend of reported Mumps cases shows a valley with 758 cases in 2021, a sharp fall to 6 in 2022, and a rise again to 195. 

• Such a picture might arise due to inadequate case reporting.

• However, neonatal tetanus cases have gradually declined to 62 from 2020 levels.

• Based on administrative and official data:

1. BCG, Pentavalent 1& 3, Oral Polio 3rd dose, Measles and Rubella (MR 1st dose), and Inactivated Polio-Vaccine (IPV 1st dose) have shown a 1-2% decline in coverage from 2022 levels.

2. The MCV 2nd dose coverage has remained constant at 90%.

3. In one year, the final dose coverage of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has increased by 17%.

4. The Hepatitis B birth dose remains constant, with a low coverage of 63%.

• The above data are summary statistics, representing a single number for a diverse community.

• Hence, the disaggregated data must be analyzed before interpreting or generalizing the above data.

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