I WAS pleasantly surprised few days ago while browsing through the May 4 issue of Dawn. There was a news item showing a new vaccination card imbedded with a computer chip that cannot be damaged even if the whole card is destroyed.

This type of vaccination card will help the masses understand the value of different vaccinations and their proper documentation. This document is important for children not only for their health but education prospects as well. All over the developed world, no child can get admission to a school without a valid vaccination card. This is a sure fire method ensuring near total immunisation coverage.

I am also a physician working as a pedriatric consultant, and I always request my patients to keep their children’s vaccnation cards either with the family passports or the Holy Quran in the case of Muslims and for people belonging to other faiths, their holy book. This is a sure recipe to ensure that they never misplace or lose a vaccination card.

I also urge the health and education authorities to make it mandatory for all schools to check vaccination cards before admitting a child. whether it is a public or private school.

Dr Mumtaz Lakhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018