Pulse Polio drive covers 36 lakh children

Hyderabad: Nearly 36.57 lakh children in the age group of 0-5 years were administered pulse polio drops on Sunday. Chief Secretary S P Singh launched first round of pulse polio programme by administering polio drops to children on the premises of Basti Davakhana at Prashasannagar at Jubilee Hills on Sunday. 

Speaking at the occasion, S P Singh said this round was aimed to cover as many children under the age group of 0-5 years in the State as possible. There are close to four lakh children in the same age group in Hyderabad.

Around 22,768 polio booths were set up to carry out this task and 787 mobile teams were also formed and placed at 737 points to cover children those identified as high risk. The programme would continue for two more days to cover those children left out on Sunday.

The Chief Secretary complimented the officials of Medical and Health Department for making concerted efforts to make this programme a success, besides creating massive awareness among the parents. The National Immunisation Days (NIDs) would be taken up in two rounds, first one being on Sunday, and the second round on March 11, 2018.

According to the officials, because of the robust pulse polio rounds conducted in the country since 1995, India has been declared polio-free in 2014. The rationale behind taking up two rounds of pulse polio immunisation days is to cover all the target children 0-5 with oral polio vaccine on a single day, so that the virus is completely destroyed from the environment and system and the State and the country is free of polio cases since 2011.

The last polio case detected in the country was baby Rukhsar from Howrah in West Bengal. Telangana has been polio free since 2008. The official said as part of the polio endgame strategy, India/Telangana is working towards eradication of polio. Pulse polio is done as booth activity and house-to-house activity.

The children missing immunisation on booth activity would be immunized in house-to-house activity following booth activity. The health staff, volunteers, ASHA, AWWs, Mahila Mandali members, MEPMA, SERP, Nursing Student and teachers were involved in the NID programme.