Five-day Pulse Polio drive to begin on Sep 18

As a part of the National Pulse Polio Vaccination Campaign, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be organising a five-day camp between September 18 and 23 across the city. The civic body aims to administer doses to more than 8.90 lakh children under five years of age, for which more than 4,000 booths have been set up.

For this purpose, 5,000 BMC teams will be working during the day, while 24 night teams will be working on the vaccination of homeless migrant children.

BMC's executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare said all children under 5 years of age will get an 'extra dose' on a single day, in addition to regular vaccination. As per the guidelines issued by the central and state governments since 1995, the Pulse Polio campaign is being conducted door-to-door on a Sunday of a particular month and for the next five days. A total of 134 Pulse Polio campaigns have been conducted by the BMC so far.

“We appeal to all the parents to be a part of this campaign and provide their children with doses. As part of this campaign, two drops will be administered to all children below five years of age at the vaccination booth on Sunday. For the next five days after the Pulse Polio Day, children who missed will be given doses in a planned manner by two volunteer vaccination teams each, by visiting their houses,” she said.

Due to the successful implementation of this campaign, the World Health Organization has declared India a polio-free country since 2014. But, in 2022, 19 polio cases were found in some countries around the world. Of these, 14 patients have been found in Pakistan and one patient was found in Afghanistan. Additionally, four patients were found in Mozambique. As a result, polio-free countries also need to take proper precautions.