18,652 children covered under pulse polio drive

Bathinda, May 31

About 18,652 children of migratory workers were administered polio drops during a three-day drive against polio that concluded today, to bring to end the re-emergence of polio in slums.

The Health Department targeted to cover more than 20,130 slum children from zero to five years of age.

Officials claimed there was uncertainty about covering children of migratory workers as their population was not fixed.

A similar drive was launched by the Health Department last month in Bathinda under which it covered more than 20,557 children under its door-to-door polio drops campaign.

On Sunday, about 8,587 children were given polio drops; about 6,400 on Monday and about 3,665 children were covered under the special drive today.

Teams were constituted to administer polio drops to mobile population, especially in slum areas, at railway stations and other remote areas.

Civil Surgeon RS Randhawa said, “About 18,652 children were covered and OPV (polio drops) was administered to them in the immunisation programme for mobile population. A number of teams were constituted and health workers went to each house in slums, visited railway stations, brick kilns, factories and other remote areas,” he said. — TNS