As much as 94.2% (around 66.41 lakh) of children were covered under the oral polio vaccination drive organised on Sunday. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched thedrive, administering the vaccine to a few children at his residence in the city. He urged parents to get children below five years vaccinated. “The State has been polio-free for 16 years and we continue to administer polio drops to prevent the virus from attacking children. Around two lakh persons have been deployed by the Health Department, and immunisation will be provided at 43,051 centres,” he said.
Thousand mobile health teams had fanned out to reach remote and difficult areas, to ensure that all children are vaccinated. A total of 1,652 transit booths had been set up at bus and train stations. Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar and Secretary Beela Rajesh were present at the event. Director of Public Health K. Kolandaisamy said door-to-door checks would be taken up on Monday and Tuesday to cover the remaining children. “PHCs and government hospitals will administer the vaccine up to January 25,” he said.
