KOZHIKODE: The district health office is in a no-holds-barred effort to increase the polio immunisation rate from the 92 per cent registered last year. As many as 2.5 lakh children under the age of five have been targeted for the first pulse polio immunisation programme of the year on Sunday. Going by the rate of 92 percent last year, officials have given special thrust to areas which showed resistance to vaccination. Last time, Valayam registered the least number of polio immunisation in the district, 66.19 percent. Thiruvallur, Kuttiyadi are other two areas where resistance was explicit.
Among the three taluks, 168.18 percent was administered pulse polio vaccine in Koyilandy, 99.24 percent in Kozhikode and 93.94 percent in Vadakara. "We have a special focus on resistance pockets with increased level of awareness, house visits, distribution of pamphlets and other activities. The focused effort put in place last year had yielded the result," said district reproductive and child health (RCH) officer Dr Sarala Nair. Post the diphtheria outbreak last year, the health department had carried out a vigorous campaign with the support of many other organisations which had brought home the message.
"As many as 2,262 points were ready at Anganwadis, health centres, schools, madrasas and libraries to administer the vaccine on January 29. Transit points like railway station, bus station are being kept ready," said additional district medical officer, Dr S.N. Ravikumar. The next phase of distribution will be on April 2. Mayor Thottathil Raveendran will inaugurate the drive on Sunday morning at Kozhikode Moffusil bus stand.
