Immunisation of children and programmes pertaining to reproductive and child health have taken a back seat as health workers are busy with COVID-19 related duties.
ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists are a crucial link between healthcare professionals and people residing in slums as well as rural areas. An ASHA who had been assigned to Bengaluru west before the pandemic said: “Our usual routine involves monitoring the health of pregnant women, postpartum women and newborns. We take special care of underweight babies and weigh them on a regular basis. All this has come to a standstill.” There are 15 children in her area who are less than five months old, and their mothers are constantly calling her for guidance as she has been posted on COVID-19 duty in another area.
A mother of a four-and a-half-month old baby said: “My child is underweight and I am completely dependent on ASHAs to clarify my doubts. But now she has been posted to another ward for COVID-19 and she is unable to come to our area. We also want to avoid visits to the hospital and therefore are asking our health workers to come at least once a week.”
Other activities such as family planning, nutrition and women’s health awareness programmes, too, are on the back burner. D. Nagalakshmi, secretary of Karnataka State Samyukta ASHA Workers’ Association, said that immunisation programmes have been affected. “The ASHAs are trying to juggle different duties. They are trying to manage by making calls to residents in their area. But due to workload, some of the activities and programmes may be affected,” she said.
The Health Department said that while no child who is brought to the hospital will be denied vaccination, their outreach sessions and routine vaccination conducted every Thursday have been affected. In light of the pandemic, parents are hesitant to take their children to hospitals.
“Government of India guidelines state that the immunisation can be done if the situation permits. But we need to weigh the risk of a pregnant woman or an infant coming out during this time. So we have left it to the respective districts to take a call based on the situation,” said B.N. Rajani, Deputy Director, Immunisation, Department of Health and Family Welfare, adding that all newborns are given vaccines at birth without fail. “A slight delay in vaccines to be given a few weeks after birth will not cause a serious problem as maternal immunity will protect the child,” she said.
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