Tamil Nadu has entered the 16th polio-free year in 2020. This year, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine is aiming at vaccinating 70.50 lakh children in the age group of 0 to 5 years in a single round of the intensified pulse polio immunisation campaign on January 19.
Public health officials said that due to the successful implementation of the pulse polio campaigns, the State has been free of polio cases. It was important to sustain this polio-free status and protect children from any possible transmission of wild polio virus.
“Neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan have reported polio cases. So, we should continue to be on alert and ensure that all children receive the dose on time,” K. Kolandaswamy, director of public health said.
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On the day of the campaign, the directorate would administer oral polio drops to children through 43,051 booths. These booths would be established in all primary health centres, government hospitals, ICDS centres, noon meal centres, schools and other important places in the State. To cover children on travel, there would be 1,652 transit booths in major bus stands, railway stations, toll plazas, check posts and airports. The immunisation booths would function from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The directorate has formed 1,000 mobile teams to administer the drops to children living in remote, inaccessible, and migrant areas. At least 5,000 to 6,000 children of migrant labourers would be immunised as part of the campaign, officials said.
Children immunised recently under the routine immunisation schedule and all newborns should get immunised on the day of campaign. To identify missed out children, finger marking would be done for all vaccinated children on the left little finger. Private paediatricians and private hospitals would also administer the drops on the day.
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About two lakh personnel from the departments of health, integrated child development scheme, education, other government departments and volunteers are taking part in the intensified pulse polio immunisation campaign.