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March 4, 2002

 

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Fear Stalls Health Push in India”

New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (03/04/02) P. A3; Dugger, Celia W.

In India, rumors that many children have died after receiving vitamin A shots have led to a public health drive being canceled. Studies have revealed that vitamin A seriously reduces the chances that many malnourished children in Third World countries will die from measles, diarrhea, and other diseases, or become blind.  UNICEF has provided the vitamin supplement to 200 million

children around the world without incident.   According to Dr.

Alfred Sommer, an epidemiologist and dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, tens of thousands of children in India will die if the vitamin A campaign is not started up again.

 

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