Tamil Nadu Administers Polio Drops to 52.9 Lakh Children in State-Wide Drive

The health department conducted an intensive pulse polio immunisation drive across Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, targeting 52.9 lakh children in the 0-5 age group on Sunday, June 28. The state-wide campaign was held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. across 43,051 centres to ensure comprehensive coverage.

To execute this massive public health initiative, the department deployed a workforce of more than two lakh individuals. This team was comprised of health workers, anganwadi workers, school teachers, and volunteers who were engaged to manage the thousands of vaccination centres. According to a press release from the health department, children who had already been administered polio drops previously were still required to be administered the drops again on the day of the drive.

The polio drops were distributed across a wide network of public facilities. These included all primary health centres (PHCs), government hospitals, integrated child development scheme centres, noon meal centres, schools, and other important designated places as part of the National Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign.

To ensure that children travelling during the campaign were not left out, transit booths were established at major transportation hubs. These booths were active at major bus stands, railway stations, customs posts, checkpoints, and airports. While the standard immunisation camps conducted their drops on Sunday, these transit booths remained operational on June 29 and June 30 to provide drops to children on the move.

The drive also made extensive arrangements to reach children in marginalised and hard-to-reach communities. Polio drops were administered in camps dedicated to the children of migrant workers. Additionally, mobile medical units were deployed to administer the drops to children of people living in remote and inaccessible areas, as well as tribal communities residing in hill areas across the state.