Pulse polio drive launched

Kurnool: District Collector Dr A Siri has emphasized that administering polio drops to children aged below five years is mandatory to safeguard their health and ensure a disease-free future.

She urged parents across the district to actively participate in the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme and get their children vaccinated without fail.

The Collector stated that even if children receive polio drops on Sunday, they must again be covered during the follow-up rounds scheduled on December 22 and 23 to ensure complete protection.

As part of the campaign, she personally administered polio drops to children aged 0–5 years at a Pulse Polio booth set up at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Municipal High School in A Camp area of Kurnool city on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion, she said that just two drops of the polio vaccine can pave the way for a healthy and secure future for children.

She stressed that vaccinating every child below five years of age is a collective responsibility of parents, health officials and society, and called upon all stakeholders to work together to achieve 100 per cent coverage under the programme.

The Collector informed that Kurnool district has a total of 3.52 lakh children in the 0–5 age group and has received around six lakh doses of the polio vaccine to meet the target.

A total of 1,630 booths have been established across the district, including special centres at bus stations and railway stations to vaccinate children who are travelling. She added that medical teams have been instructed to conduct door-to-door visits on December 22 and 23 to administer polio drops to children who may have missed vaccination on the main day. DMHO Dr Bhaskar Raju, Corporator Padmalatha, medical staff and other officials participated in the Pulse Polio programme.