PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has dropped the term ‘routine immunisation’, which would now be referred to as ‘essential immunisation’.

A notification issued here on Friday said that the Expanded Programme on Immunisation covered 10 antigens against vaccine preventable diseases of mother and child and this activity was referred to as routine immunisation and the package was legally granted under the KP Vaccination Amendment Act, 2017.

The statement said the term ‘routine’ was a misnomer as it did not properly amplify the importance of the programme in general public and service providers, giving impression of it as a routine activity instead of essential service.

But, now the health department was discarding the term ‘routine’ for further use and therefore term ‘essential’ immunisation henceforth would be used as a nomenclature for all purposes, including documents, usage in communication and emphasis through social mobilisation and communication.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2018