Vaccines are a protective shield that safeguard infants and children from harmful and life-threatening conditions. However, when you are a first-time parent or extremely busy juggling different aspects of life, being mindful of the vaccine administration dates can be difficult.
This may prove highly damaging to children who often miss out on getting essential vaccines like measles, BCG, DPT, polio, tetanus, and others. The IAP-Immunizeindia was developed to cater to those concerns.
This article explores more about the world’s largest vaccination reminder service known as IAP-Immunizeindia.
In this Article
Mobile App that Provides Vaccine Reminder Alert for your Kid
IAP-Immunizeindia is the world’s largest vaccination reminder service. It is available as a free application available on Google Play Store, App Store and via SMS services. The application is available for every parent in India, free of cost.
The mobile application was developed as a national non-profit initiative with the support of Indian Academy of Pediatrics. The initiative is further backed by global telecom service provider, Vodafone.
The primary objective of the IAP-Immunizeindia application is to make vaccination a smooth and streamlined process for the parents. When infants and kids get their vaccines on time, it significantly reduces the incidence of diseases and deaths caused by these vaccine-preventable conditions.
The program was launched in 2014 by Chief Guest Shri C K Mishra, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
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The vision of this non-profit initiative was to successfully enroll over 20 million children by the end of 2020. The Application aimed at preventing a hundred thousand child deaths and disabilities by 2020. This is why the application further expanded its features and services by including the SMS reminder service. Under this service, registered parents get timely reminders on their mobile phones reminding them of the vaccination dates as per the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee On Immunization (IAPCOI) guidelines. This service extends up to 12 years.
How to get an SMS Message Alert for your Kids’ Vaccination?
If you aren’t very proactive about using the mobile application, the SMS service comes handy. It is a prompt service and will send alerts every time your child is due for vaccination. The registration process on the portal is easy and doesn’t involve any unnecessary charges. It is 100% free of cost. Parents in India can avail of the SMS service by messaging the national shortcode, 566778.
For registration, here’s what the parents need to do:
- Type Immunize [Space] [Baby’s first name] [Space] [Baby’s date of birth] and send the message to 566778.
- Once the registration is done, the parents will receive a confirmation message on their registered mobile number.
- As per the IAPCOI prescribed immunization schedule, parents will receive the vaccination reminders via SMS for the next 12 years.
- The vaccination reminders are sent at two day intervals before the actual day of immunization.
- The parents will receive three reminders per day. None of the SMS reminders promotes or advertises an individual vaccine brand or type.
Why Should you Register for the Vaccine Reminder Alert Service?
According to statistics, over 2 million children (under the age of 5) die due to a disease that could have been prevented with proper and on-time vaccination. Some of these diseases even leave over 1 million children disabled.
The most common reason behind these figures is due to parents forgetting about the timely administration of the vaccines.
Upon comprehensive research, the vaccination reminder services improved the immunization compliance rate in children by 20%. This means that 20% more parents complied in getting their child vaccinated on time with these reminders.
In a world where almost every family has access to a mobile phone with a working data plan, the vaccine reminder alert via SMS seemed the most accessible. So, it was a no brainer why the IAP-Immunizeindia came into being with an SMS service option.
The immunization reminder service enables every child born in India to live a healthy and comfortable life. The service ensures that a child never misses out on a vaccine dose.
Besides the staple SMS alert, the IAP-Immunizeindia is available as a mobile application on Google Play Store and App Store.
FAQs
Conclusion
If you have a newborn, toddler or a kid under 12 that needs to get their vaccination doses on time, the IAP-Immunizeindia vaccination reminder service is the best service available. The program has successfully reduced deaths and disabilities that result from a lack of vaccination in India. If you don’t have a mobile application downloaded, proactively register for the SMS reminder service so that your child doesn’t miss out on any of the vaccines.