Chennai: Over 5.38 lakh children in Chennai city were administered oral polio vaccine in the first phase of the annual pulse polio immunisation drive that kickstarted across the state on Sunday. This constitutes 93.4 per cent of children between 0 to 5 years in Chennai.
Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy inaugurated the drive in the city at the primary health centre at Kolathur. Deputy mayor P. Benjamin and principal secretary and corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur participated.
Officials attached to the local body said of the targeted 5.76 lakh children in the city, oral drops were administered to over 5.38 lakh. On Sunday, the drive was conducted at 1,325 plaÂces, including 1,162 perÂmanent centres at the corporation’s primary heÂalth centres, government hospitals and dispensaries, while 138 temporaÂry stalls were put up at raÂilÂway stations and bus staÂnds and 25 mobile units were also arranged to go around the slums, Marina beach and Island Grounds to administer oral drops to the children there.
Around 5,300 volunteers like government staff, anganwadi workers, NGOs and local staff were roped in for the one-day drive that began at 7 am and went on till 5 pm.
