Improving vaccination coverage and timeliness through periodic intensification of routine immunization: evidence from Mission Indradhanush
By Amit Summan, Arindam Nandi, Sarang Deo, Ramanan Laxminarayan
Proceedings of NY Academy of Sciences | July 2021
DOI
nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nyas.14657
Citation
Summan, Amit., Nandi, Arindam., Deo, Sarang., Laxminarayan, Ramanan. Improving vaccination coverage and timeliness through periodic intensification of routine immunization: evidence from Mission Indradhanush Proceedings of NY Academy of Sciences nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nyas.14657.
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Proceedings of NY Academy of Sciences, 2021
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Abstract
Only an estimated 62% of Indian children under the age of 2 years are fully immunized.We examined the association between India’s Mission Indradhanush (MI)—a periodic intensification of the routine immunization program— which was implemented in phases across districts between March 2015 and July 2017, and routine vaccination coverage and timeliness among children. We used data from a 2015 to 2016 national survey of children (n = 29,532) and employed difference-in-difference regressions to examine binary indicators of receipt of 11 vaccines and whether vaccines were received at recommended ages. The full immunization rate was 27% higher among children under 2 years old residing in MI phase 1 and 2 districts (intervention group) as compared with those residing elsewhere (control group). The rate of receiving all vaccines at recommended ages was 8% higher in the intervention group. Receiving doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) birth dose, OPV dose 1 (OPV1), OPV2, OPV3, bacillus Calmette– Guérin, and hepatitis B birth dose vaccines were 9%, 9%, 11%, 16%, 5%, and 19% higher in the intervention group than the control group, respectively. More research is required on the cost-effectiveness of investing in MI-type programs as compared with routine immunization

Sarang Deo is a Professor of Operations Management at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He also serves as the Executive Director of the ISB’s Max Institute of Healthcare Management, where he provides strategic leadership for ISB's healthcare initiatives through interdisciplinary research, education, and collaboration.

Professor Deo's research focuses on healthcare delivery systems, examining how operational decisions influence population-level health outcomes. His work spans a wide range of healthcare contexts, including influenza vaccine supply chains and ambulance diversion in the United States, HIV early infant diagnosis networks in sub-Saharan Africa, and formal and informal pathways for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment in India. His recent research has focused on designing and evaluating healthcare delivery models, with a particular emphasis on digital health and the integration of artificial intelligence into healthcare systems.

He regularly collaborates with leading global health organisations, including the Gates Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and PATH. He currently serves on the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis (STAG-TB) and the Working Group for Non-Technical Evaluation under the WHO Global Initiative on AI for Health (GI-AI4H).

Prior to joining ISB, Professor Deo was an Assistant Professor at the Kellogg School of Management. He holds a PhD from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Before entering academia, he worked as a management consultant with Accenture.

Professor Sarang Deo
Sarang Deo