3-Day Polio Vaccine Drive Begins in Six Districts
At the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) in Tilaknagar, Narayanguda, parents arrived early with their children. Senior public health officer Dr D Padamila said that four teams are operating across 169 booths and six urban primary centers, targeting 35,893 children.
Hyderabad: A total of 16,35,432 children up to five yeyars of age received the oral polio vaccine (OPV) on the first day of the Pulse Polio immunisation drive across six districts of Telangana, achieving 94.4 per cent coverage, according to the office of health minister Damodar C. Rajanarsimha. Children who were unwell were sent back, and would receive the vaccine after they recover.
Among these, 15,91,907 children were vaccinated at booths, 22,173 at transit points, and 21,352 by mobile teams.
The house-to-house vaccination campaign will continue for two days to ensure that every child in the age group is immunised as part of a nationwide campaign.
At the state-run Sishuvihar in Madhuranagar, 140 children — mostly abandoned, missing, or rescued from trafficking — were administered polio drops. Superintendent Santhoshi reported that vaccination was completed for all children under five. Dr Sangeetha Satyanarayana, commissioner of health and family welfare, inaugurated the drive at the Government Girls High School, West Marredpally.
As part of the programme, 259 mobile teams, 138 transit points, and 576 route supervisors have been deployed for monitoring. A total of 19,10,400 doses of the vaccine has been distributed. The campaign involves 9,110 female health workers (MPHA-F), 6,705 ASHA workers, and 6,574 Anganwadi workers.
According to Hyderabad district collector Harichandana Dasari, 2,843 vaccination centres have been set up to cover around 5,17,238 children.
At the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) in Tilaknagar, Narayanguda, parents arrived early with their children. Senior public health officer Dr D Padamila said that four teams are operating across 169 booths and six urban primary centers, targeting 35,893 children.
Dr Deepti, medical officer at the UPHC, said, “Parents are coming with children with symptoms of fever. We allow vaccination for children with mild fever, but not for those with high fever or severe cold. As we can’t cover all children in two days, we have requested an extra day to complete the drive.”
Parent D. Manasa, who brought her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, said, “Minor health issues in children cause us anxiety, so taking precautions is a priority. We always prefer government hospitals for vaccinations.”
