Indore: Over 3.91 lakh children given polio drops

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Pulse Polio Campaign, 2022, was launched across the district on Sunday and children below five years of age were covered on the first day of the campaign.

According to immunisation officer Dr Tarun Gupta, the department was entrusted with a target of administering polio drops to 5.20 lakh children in the district and it achieved 75 per cent of the target on the very first day of the campaign.

The campaign was inaugurated by mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and collector Ilayaraja T by administering polio drops to children at the Government PC Sethi Hospital on Sunday. 

The health department had also made preparations to attract children to the booths by displaying cartoons, colourful paintings and displaying toys at many centres.

The department also had operational booths at the railway station, bus stops and other transition points to make it easy for people to get their children immunised.

The health officials said the last reported cases of wild polio in India were in West Bengal and Gujarat on January 13, 2011. On March 27, 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared India a polio-free country, since no cases of wild polio were reported since then.

Doorstep drive on Monday

"More than 3.91 lakh children were administered polio drops at over 3,300 booths set up by us with the help of paramedical and nursing students and our health activists. Now, on Monday, the activists will reach every doorstep to administer drops to those who couldn’t reach the booths on Sunday."

— Dr Tarun Gupta, district immunisation officer