Kochi  :

‘Thiricharivukal’ (Realisation), a short film, that seeks to counter the vituperative campaign against vaccination witnessed in some parts of Northern Kerala is now set to wow audiences nationwide. The film made by Kerala Chapter of Indian Association of Paediatricians, is being dubbed into Hindi and will be released in the first week of July.

“It was in 2008 that outbreak of diphtheria and tetanus were witnessed  in the state after a gap of 30 years and most of these cases were reported from Malappuram. Kerala Branch of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has been carrying out a campaign in support of the vaccination drive.  However, the social media was full of anti-vaccination campaigns based on half-baked truths. Some naturopathy healers were behind this. So we wanted to  to counter it,”  said  Dr Jiss Thomas Palukunnel, IAP secretary,  Kottayam Branch, who conceived  the idea which eventually coalesced into an eight minute-long film.

Though Paediatricians spearheaded the counter campaign, doctors from other streams, majority of whom hailed from Kottayam, were also part of the endeavor. Besides Dr Jiss Thomas, the cast includes Dr Sunu John, who is also the  vice-president of IAP Kottayam Chapter, Anaesthetist Dr Bulbul, surgeon Dr Jibin and Dr Linto from the Department of Health Services. The film, which is available on You Tube link http://youtu.be/ 10pyMi4b0po, depicts a middle class family where the husband is staunchly opposed to the idea of vaccinating his daughter on the grounds that he was quite healthy despite not receiving vaccination as a child. And the opening scene shows the girl asking her father whether she could get herself vaccinated since it was Vaccination Day at her school.  But the man’s stubborn stand  forces his wife and daughter to fall silent.

Later on,  the man realises that his friend’s daughter had died of diphteria and he rushes off to his daughter’s school. There he finds his daughter remaining all alone in the classroom as her batchmates had gone for vaccination.  Transformed, he takes his daughter to the doctor to get her vaccinated thereby showing a change in the mindset.

According to Dr Jiss, the film would be screened in schools as part of IAP’s DIET (Diet, Interaction and Immunisation, Exercise and TV and social networking) programme.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / June 24th, 2016