Over 40.9 Lakh Telangana Children To Receive Pulse Polio Drops From June 28
Nearly 23,000 booths to administer polio drops, followed by door-to-door vaccination.
Hyderabad: More than 40.97 lakh children below the age of five will receive polio drops under Telangana’s Pulse Polio programme beginning Sunday, with the health department setting up nearly 23,000 vaccination booths and planning door-to-door visits to ensure no child is left out.
A statement said 22,979 booths will function from 7 am to 6 pm across the state on the first day. This will be followed by house-to-house visits on June 29 and 30 to vaccinate children who miss the booth day. Owing to their large urban population, Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal Malkajgiri and Sangareddy districts will continue the drive on July 1.
All children below five years will receive two drops of the bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV), irrespective of their routine immunisation status.
The health department said it has planned 903 mobile teams, 903 transit points and 2,298 route supervisors. It said 8,754 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), 28,160 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), 35,700 Anganwadi workers, volunteers, Mahila Mandali members, MEPMA, SERP personnel, nursing students and teachers will participate. A total of 52.04 lakh doses of bOPV have been supplied to districts. Awareness campaigns through print and electronic media, banners, cinema slides and audio-visual messages have also been planned.
Health department data show that the number of children covered under the programme has increased from 36.55 lakh in 2018 to over 40.97 lakh in 2024. During the 2024 round, 40.97 lakh children were vaccinated against an estimated target of 40.57 lakh, reflecting efforts to reach children who might otherwise have been missed and helping sustain the polio-free status of Telangana and the country.
