Is the female child being neglected? Immunization in India

Abstract

A study designed to determine the age at which children receive their first vaccinations in India revealed a wide disparity between male and female children a finding that goes along with other reports of the countrys gender-based discrimination. The study involved 1000 children who were brought by their parents to the immunization clinic of the general hospital in Udaipur city. The study sought to determine: 1) the childrens age at 1st vaccination; 2) their sex and nutritional status; 3) their socioeconomic status; and 4) maternal literacy. The study found the 48.8% of the children were brought for their 1st vaccination between the ages of 6-10 weeks the ideal age at which to begin immunization. 21% received their 1st vaccination after age 9 months. The mean age was 3.4 months for male children and 6.1 months for female children -- a statistically significant difference. 84.8% of children in the highest income group received their first vaccine between the ages of 6-10 weeks while only 52.5% of the children in the middle income group and 24.2% of the lowest income group received their vaccinations during the ideal period. The study also found a direct correlation between maternal literacy and the age at 1st vaccination. 79.5% of children with literate mothers received their 1st vaccine during the optimal period a figure that decreased to 20.5% for children with illiterate mothers. 25.5% of all the children were suffering from malnutrition; for males the rate of malnutrition was 15.8% and for females 36.6%. The study concludes that in order for India to have a successful immunization program (currently the immunization coverage is a dismal 58%) parents must be instructed on the optimal immunization age and gender biases must be abolished.