Tamil Nadu CM Vijay to launch statewide pulse polio campaign
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will launch the state's annual Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign on Sunday, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting children from poliomyelitis and maintaining India's polio-free status.
The campaign will be inaugurated at the Adi Dravidar Welfare Higher Secondary School in Palavakkam, Chennai, where children below the age of five will receive oral polio vaccine drops. The initiative is part of the National Pulse Polio Programme aimed at ensuring every eligible child is immunised.
This year, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has set a target of vaccinating 52.91 lakh children through 43,051 immunisation booths established across the state. Vaccination centres have been set up at government hospitals, primary health centres, Anganwadi centres, schools, bus terminals, railway stations, airports, toll plazas, check posts and other public locations.
To ensure no child is left out, mobile medical teams will visit remote villages, hilly regions and inaccessible areas to administer the vaccine. Health officials have urged parents to bring all children below five years of age for immunisation, regardless of whether they have previously received routine vaccinations or earlier polio doses.
Ahead of the campaign, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran reviewed the arrangements at the launch venue. India was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014, and annual Pulse Polio drives continue to prevent the re-emergence of the disease.
