Five lakh kids to get pulse polio drops in Chittoor today

The programme will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: DMHO

District Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta said that about five lakh children under the age of five are set to receive pulse polio drops during the Pulse Polio Immunization(PPI) drive scheduled on January 19.

Chitoor District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Penchalaiah said that as many as 3,000 PPI booths were being set up in Chittoor, in addition to mobile parties and booths at railway stations and bus stations. The programme would commence at 7 a.m. and would continue till 5 p.m., he added.

Speaking to the mediapersons at the District Headquarters Hospital here, the Collector said that every year the PPI drive would be launched in January by the Central government with an objective of ‘complete eradication of the polio menace’.

Awareness rally

He said that the parents should shun all inhibitions about the PPI drive and come forward to administer the polio drops to their children below five years, including the just-born.

Earlier, Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta launched Pulse Polio Awareness rally at the District headquarters hospital, which passed through the busy Church Street, and culminated at the Old Bus Stand junction. Hundreds of students, medical and paramedical teams and public took part in the event, carrying placards to spread the message.