Polio drive begins: MLA Bharath Shetty administers vaccine to DC KV Rajendra’s daughter

Mangaluru: MLA Bharath Shetty on Sunday, January 31 launched the first round of the Pulse Polio Programme for 2021 in the district by administering polio drops to Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra’s daughter at Government Lady Goschen Hospital.

Polio National Immunization Day is being observed on January 31, also popularly known as Polio Ravivar. Polio drops are administered to children in the age group of 0 to 5 years.

In an official release, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that around 17 crore children of less than 5 years of age will be given polio drops as part of the drive of the Central government to sustain the polio-free status of the country,

The countrywide drive will be supported by about 24 lakh volunteers, 1.5 lakh supervisors, and many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and Rotary, it said.

Healthcare workers will be visiting as many as 2 crore households to ensure that no child is left without the protection of the polio vaccine, they added.