Puri: The children in the age group of 0 to 5 years to be provided with polio drops till March 1 starting from today in Puri district. Today the polio immunization drive will continue in the Polio booths while tomorrow and on March 1 health workers will move door-to-door for giving polio drops to kids to ensure that no one is left.
As per reports, this year about 1,85,901 kids will be given polio drops under this drive. The health workers will visit about 3,68,805 houses to provide polio drops. In the urban areas about 55,100 kids will get polio immunization while in the rural areas the total number of kids who will get polio drops is 1,30,801.
As many as 766 booths have been installed to provide the polio drops to children. In Puri, 56 crowded places have been identified where polio drops will be given to the kids. These places include the bus stand near Srimandira, Srimandira area and some other crowded places.
Apart from the above places, 24 numbers of moving teams will also provide polio drops. In this drive as many as 3386 persons have been included that contitues of 3064 health workers and 162 supervisors as well as Anganwadi workers.
The polio immunization drive will be conducted abiding the Covid 19 norms and only 5 people will be given entry into the booth at one time.
It is to be noted that Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday launched the National Polio Immunization Drive for 2022 by administering polio drops to children below five years of age at the health ministry.
India conducts one nationwide NID and two Sub-National Immunization Day (SNIDs) for polio every year to maintain population immunity against wild poliovirus and to sustain its polio-free status. During the Polio NID, over 15 crore children will be covered across all 36 states and UTs in 735 districts.
Addressing the occasion, Mandaviya said that the country’s strategic fight against polio is a success story of India’s public health policy against vaccine preventable diseases. “We need to continue to be vigilant and ensure that every child under five years of age must get polio drops”.
Stressing on the importance of observing National Immunisation Day, he said that the aim of Swastha Bharath can only be achieved if the children are healthy. The objective of Mission Indradhanush or Polio Vaccination Drive is to protect them against such deadly diseases.
During the drive, polio drops will be provided to children through 7 lakh booths across the country. Approximately 23.6 crore houses will be visited for polio drops.
Ms Kalinga