The children who have attained the age for vaccine eligibility were supposed to be vaccinated for the disease under the routine immunisation programme.

This programme was scheduled for the month of July, before the start of the monsoon season, which also marks the rise in the cases of encephalitis. “It is true that these children should have been vaccinated before the start of the monsoon but we are helpless due to shortage of vaccine,” added Chandhary.

As the JE vaccine is given once in a lifetime, those children who completed a year this year were not included in the original drive which took place last year. The districts in question had conducted the drive last year too.