One Lakh Children To Get Polio Vaccine In Manyam

VISAKHAPATNAM: Parvathipuram Manyam district administration has finalised preparations to administer polio drops to 99,507 children under five years of age as part of the Pulse Polio programme scheduled for December 21. District collector N. Prabhakara Reddy, addressing a press conference on Monday, said vaccination booths have been set up at 905 locations across the district to ensure comprehensive coverage. “Every child from newborns to those under five years must receive the polio drops,” he emphasised. To reach children in remote and underserved areas, the health department will deploy 42 mobile teams targeting slums, migrant worker settlements, construction sites, and brick kilns. Each mobile team comprises one medical officer and two support staff members. These teams will also cover 178 remote villages, along with high-traffic areas such as bus stands, railway stations, hospitals, markets, and tourist destinations. The programme will additionally utilise 19 transit points to vaccinate children on the move. Over one lakh doses of the polio vaccine have been allocated to the district for the campaign. Recognising that some children might be missed during the main drive, health workers will conduct a house-to-house survey on December 22 and 23 to identify and vaccinate any remaining children. The large-scale immunization effort will involve 72 medical officers, 382 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), 277 community health officers, 1,545 ASHA workers, and 2,075 Anganwadi staff participating. Additional support will come from pharmacists, nursing students, volunteers from civil society organisations, and teachers. A supervisory team of nine district medical and health officers and 93 health supervisors will oversee the program’s implementation.



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