Polio immunisation drive today

Tirupati: District has geared up for the first-round of Pulse Polio immunisation programme which is to be held on Sunday in which vaccination with oral polio vaccine to the children below 5 years will be administered. To bring awareness on the programme, a rally was organised in Chittoor on Saturday, which started from Government Headquarters Hospital.

Highlights:

•  Elaborate arrangements were made for administering polio drops to kids below 5 years
• DM&HO directs officials to make programme 100 per cent success

 District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Dr S Vijaya Gowri, ZP Chairperson S Girvani, Chittoor MLA DK Satyaprabha, MLC Rajasimhulu, Chittoor Mayor K Hemalatha have participated and flagged off the rally. 

Later, a review meeting was held on the arrangements made for the smooth conduct of the programme in which divisional and programme officers took part. DM&HO has directed the officials to lay stress on the dropouts and leftover areas and administer the pulse polio dose there to make it 100 per cent success.

She said that there are 4.67 lakh children in the age group of 0-5 years in the 66 mandals of the district. To cover all of them under the programme, 2,984 booths were set up in 102 PHCs, municipalities and municipal corporations along with 124 mobile polio drop vehicles. Also, 1.22 lakh vaccinators and 298 root supervisors will execute the programme. 

A total of 331 high risk areas were identified like labourers of brick industry, construction activity, beggars, migrants, tribal areas, people with no transport facility through a survey and polio drops will be given to their children. The DM&HO added that the government has appointed Zonal Malaria Officer Dr K Koteswari as special observer for the Pulse Polio programme. 

Polio drops centres were also being opened at all railway stations, bus stations and other areas. All the line departments like ICDS, education, Panchayat Raj, MDOs and service organisations like Lions Club, Rotary Club, SHGs and others will cooperate for making the programme a success, she said.  

DTCO Dr B Ramesh Babu, DIO Dr U Vijaya Kumari, DMO Dr Srinivasa rao, DEMO A Nirmalamma and others participated in the meeting. In the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati, Pulse polio drops will be given to the children from January 28 to 30 in which the staff will visit door-to-door and administer the dose. 

Programme will be held at 157 centres in the corporation area for 34,354 children, which will be monitored by 15 supervisors, and there will be three mobile teams. Also, 11 ANMs, 75 Anganwadi teachers, 25 ASHA workers, 508 nursing students and others will take part in the programme.