CM Joseph Vijay Launches Pulse Polio Drive in Pallavakkam for 52 Lakh Children

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay launched Tamil Nadu’s National Pulse Polio Immunisation drive on Sunday at a government Adi Dravidar Welfare Higher Secondary School in Pallavakkam, Chennai. The state-wide initiative aimed to administer oral polio vaccine drops to more than 52.91 lakh children under the age of five.

To facilitate the massive health drive, the state government established a total of 43,051 immunisation booths across Tamil Nadu. The launch event in the Pallavakkam locality was attended by Health Minister K Arunraj, as well as senior officials from the state health department, the Greater Chennai Corporation, and the National Health Mission. During the event, the Chief Minister kick-started the campaign by administering the vaccine drops directly to children.

The designated immunisation booths were fully operational from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The special campaign was carried out across a variety of public venues, including government primary health centres, hospitals, local schools, and anganwadi centres.

In order to reach children who were travelling, transit vaccination booths were set up at key public transit points. These transit booths were positioned at major bus terminals, railway stations, airports, toll plazas, and check-posts. While the standard booths concluded their work on Sunday, these transit booths were scheduled to continue administering polio drops on June 29 and 30 to ensure no child was missed.

A government press release noted that the campaign specifically covered the children of migrant workers from other states who are currently residing in Tamil Nadu.

To manage the logistics and operations of the massive drive, more than two lakh personnel were deployed across the state. This large workforce consisted of healthcare workers, anganwadi staff, school teachers, and local volunteers who worked to ensure the smooth conduct of the immunisation campaign.