Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) C Joseph Vijay is all set to bring in force the state’s Annual Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign on Sunday, reaffirming the state government’s commitment to shielding kids from poliomyelitis and retaining the nation’s polio-free status.

The flagship vaccination drive will be inaugurated at the Adi Dravidar Welfare Higher Secondary School campus in Chennai’s Palavakkam, where kids below the age of five shall be administered oral polio vaccine drops.

The campaign is part of the National Pulse Polio programme, under which every eligible child receives free-of-cost vaccination to maintain immunity against the highly-infectious disease.

52.9L kids to receive vaccine

The Tamil Nadu Health Department has set a target of vaccinating as many as 52.91 lakh children across the state during the day-long campaign. To ensure comprehensive coverage, authorities have established a total of 43,051 vaccination booths at strategic locations, including government primary health centres, government hospitals, Anganwadi centres, schools, bus terminals, railway stations, toll plazas, check posts, airports and other public places which see huge footfall.

The extensive network has been laid to ensure that every child below 5 years of age receives the life-saving vaccine, even if families are travelling on the day of the campaign.

Special focus laid on remote areas

Moreover, the state’s health department has made special arrangements for remote and inaccessible locations, including hilly terrains and isolated villages, in wake of challenges of reaching children in geographically difficult regions.

Mobile medical teams have been deployed to visit such areas and administer oral polio drops to children who may not be able to access the fixed vaccination booths.

Health officials urge parents to participate

Health officials of the South-Indian state have urged the parents and guardians to bring all children below the age of 5 to their nearest vaccination centres, regardless of whether they have received the routine vaccination earlier or doses of the oral polio vaccine.

Medical experts reiterated that multiple doses of the oral vaccine are essential for maintaining immunity and preventing the re-emergence of the disease. They maintained that every round of the Pulse Polio campaign plays a key role in ramping up community-wide protection against the virus.