87% children given pulse polio drops in Kozhikode

Healthcare volunteers to visit houses to identify those who missed out

As many as 2,01,551 children aged up to five were administered pulse polio drops in Kozhikode district on the first day of the immunisation programme on Sunday.

Healthcare volunteers will now visit houses on February 28, March 1, and March 2 to identify those who missed out. The target is to cover 8,09,356 houses. Health department sources said that 7,988 volunteers and 335 supervisors would be deployed.

District Medical Officer V. Ummer Farooq said that those who got the drops included 679 children from other States and 4,095 travellers. The targeted population is 2,29,975 children of whom 87.5% had been covered, he said.

As many as 2,208 booths were set up across the district with each one targeting 125 children. Each booth had two vaccinators. Apart from this, 51 transit booths too were set up at public places such as railway stations and bus stations to help travellers. The drive began at 8 a.m. and concluded at 5 p.m. In transit booths, they lasted till 8 p.m. Sixty-four mobile booths targeting remote places and migrant labourers were deployed. Booths were set up in schools, anganwadis, and libraries as well. COVID protocol was observed at all these places as the volunteers were trained to follow the guidelines. Parents were earlier asked to reach the booths at designated time to avoid crowding.