Bhubaneswar: Japanese encephalitis vaccination drive has received a setback here as several private schools and parents are reluctant to cooperate with health officials to administer vaccine to children.

A report of the National Health Mission (NHM) has sought urgent help of civic authorities to overcome the resistance of teachers and parents in administering vaccination to the children.

According to the report, 181 city schools showed reluctance to participate in the vaccination drive that started on November 27. There are 483 schools in the city and the drive has been completed in 302 schools.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the NHM collaborated with each other and decided to cover schools in the first phase and communities in the second phase. The plan involves vaccination of children in the age group of 1 to 15 years.

JE is a vector-borne disease that develops in pigs, while mosquitoes act as carriers. In the past, JE had taken form of epidemic in the state. A report of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme stated that the state witnessed 38 deaths in 2012, while in 2016 nearly 115 people had lost their lives.

"Many private schools have not cooperated in the vaccination exercise. They are not even asking parents to take part in the drive. We have decided to call on parent associations and school authorities to sensitise them on the need to get vaccinated," said an NHM official.

He said that administering the vaccine provides immunity to children against Japanese encephalitis. "The state government has decided to provide the vaccine to all the children to save them from the deadly vector-borne disease. It is necessary for parents and teachers to understand the importance of the vaccine," said an official.

The corporation and the NHM held a high-level meeting on November 23 and decided to cover 2.25 lakh children in the city.

The first phase of the drive started on November 27 and ended on December 11. However, since the coverage was not satisfactory, the authorities are now planning to extend the dates.

"We will call on parent-teacher associations of schools where we did not get positive response. Our aim is to ensure at least 95 per cent coverage. In the next phase we are also going to start measles-rubella vaccination. It is necessary for the beneficiaries to understand the importance of the vaccines," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

Authorities in the districts had also faced similar problem. The report revealed that 5,121 schools were yet to be covered out of the identified 33,600 schools in the state. The programme has faced resistance in the districts of Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Kendrapada, Khurda, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Puri, Rayagada, Sonepur, Sundargarh and Rourkela.