A total of 2,89,505 children within five years of age were administered polio drops in Madurai district on Sunday as part of the nation-wide Intensive Pulse Polio Immunisation (IPPI) programme.
The vaccine was administered at hundreds of booths set up in government hospitals, primary health centres, anganwadis and other public places across the district. Apart from these, mobile teams were also deployed to target children in transit in places such as bus stands, railway stations and Madurai airport. Teams were also deployed to administer the vaccine to children who are part of migrant communities, a statement issued by the district administration said.
While the district administration had targeted the administration of vaccine to a total of 2,85,400 children based on the estimation of population below five years, the target was exceeded in the district since 11,999 children were given polio drops at transit points. “We wanted to target the children who were on the move. We also administered the vaccine to 663 children from migrant communities,” a senior official from Health and Family Welfare Department said.
Cooperation Minister ‘Sellur’ K. Raju, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, and Collector S. Natarajan took part in the polio vaccination programme in different places.
