Chennai, June 27 (IANS). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will launch the statewide annual pulse polio vaccination campaign on Sunday. The campaign aims to protect children under five years of age from polio and maintain India’s polio-free status.
The Chief Minister will launch the campaign at the Adi Dravida Kalyan Higher Secondary School campus in Palavakkam, Chennai, where children under five years of age will be administered polio drops.
The campaign is part of the National Pulse Polio Programme, under which all children under five years of age are administered free polio vaccine to maintain their immunity against this highly infectious disease.
This year, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has set a target of administering polio vaccine to 52.91 lakh children across the state. For this, 43,051 vaccination centers have been established across the state.
These centers have been set up at government primary health centres, government hospitals, Anganwadi centres, schools, bus stands, railway stations, toll plazas, check posts, airports and other public places, so that no eligible child is deprived of vaccination.
Special mobile medical teams have also been deployed to reach children living in remote and inaccessible areas, hilly areas and isolated villages. These teams will go door-to-door and administer polio medicine to children.
The health department has appealed to parents to bring all children under five years of age to the nearest vaccination centre, even if they have previously received routine vaccination or polio dose. According to medical experts, frequent polio vaccinations are necessary to maintain children’s immunity and prevent relapse of the disease.
Before the launch of the campaign, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran inspected the venue of the event at Palavakkam on Saturday and took stock of the preparations. He instructed the officials to ensure necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct of the campaign.
Let us tell you that India was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the year 2014. Despite this, Pulse Polio campaign is conducted every year across the country to prevent the possible return of polio virus or the risk of external infection.
–IANS
SAK/AS