Telangana: 2 lakh polio shots ready for one of the world's largest drive

Hyderabad: Over two lakh vials of inactivated polio vaccine have been procured by the state for one of the largest such special drives in the world. Dr Laxma Reddy, minister for health and family welfare, met the the World Health Organisation’s South Asia Head Dr Sunil Behl on Thursday morning.

Dr Behl has been touring the city’s areas and observing the enumeration programme which is being carried out by the government currently.

The presence of the vaccine-derived polio virus in the Amberpet nala has got all the global stakeholders in the polio drive to come to Hyderabad and oversee the procedure. Officials from the central team in New Delhi and those from Centre for Disease Control in the United States would also be in the city to observe and document the polio drive.

Meanwhile, the enumeration programme of identifying the children and ensuring that their parents get them to the booth for vaccination has already begun.

Dr Srinivas Rao, who is also a part of the massive programme, said, “This is the first special drive in the world of inactivated polio virus. Hence it is being very closely observed, documented and analysed by various agencies involved. As part of this programme, the health officials are going to be at the booth where all the children will have to be brought. The vaccination will be conducted at the booth only. In order to spread awareness and to make parents bring children to the centres for vaccination, this massive campaign at the ground level is important and is being seriously pursued.”