Pulse polio immunisation drive begins in Nandyal, Anantapur and Kurnool districts

The pulse polio immunisation drive started in Nandyal, Anantapur and Kurnool districts on Sunday.

In Nandyal, District Collector Rajakumari Ganiya launched the immunisation drive by administering polio drops to children at MS Nagar Urban Primary Health Centre in Mulasagara. She emphasised that administering two drops of polio drops vaccine was crucial for ensuring a bright future for the children.

The Collector said that although India was a polio-free nation, sporadic polio cases were still being reported in neighbouring countries. To protect children from this risk, the programme is being conducted twice a year — once in June and once in December. She urged that polio drops be mandatorily administered to all children between the ages of 0 and 5.

Meanwhile, in the district, 1,320 polio vaccination centres have been set up to administer polio drops to 2,38,000 children. Additionally, centres have been made available at bus and railway stations for children who are travelling. The Collector urged parents not to harbour any misconceptions and added that the vaccine can be administered even to children suffering from fever, cold, or diarrhoea.

She said that on June 29 (Monday) and 30 (Tuesday), medical staff will conduct door-to-door visits to administer polio drops to children who may have missed the initial round.

In Anantapur, Joint Collector C. Vishnu Charan launched the drive at Rotary English Medium School in Kamalanagar and personally administered polio drops to several children.

Speaking on the occasion, the Joint Collector said arrangements have been made to administer polio drops to approximately 2,83,430 children across 1,623 booths in the district. Centres have been set up at all major junctions, bus stands, railway stations, local primary health centres, anganwadi centres, government schools, and areas in rural and urban outskirts to administer free polio vaccines to children.

In Kurnool, Joint Collector Nurul Qamar administered drops to children at Indira Gandhi Memorial Municipal High School in A-Camp, Kurnool. The Joint Collector said that 1,630 booths have been established across the district while another 52 centres have been set up at bus stands, railway stations, and airports to administer drops to children who are traveling, and 33 mobile booths have also been deployed.