Guv launches pulse polio vax drive

Governor of Andhra Pradesh S Abdul Nazeer has launched the pulse polio campaign on National Immunisation Day by administering polio drops to infants at a programme held in Raj Bhavan on Sunday. First Lady Sameera Nazeer has also administered polio drops to children.
To maintain India’s polio-free status and ensure the complete protection of children against the debilitating disease, Andhra Pradesh has embarked on a comprehensive polio vaccination campaign across the state.
With a target population of 53,35,519 children aged 0–5 years, the state has set up 37,465 booths and deployed 74,930 house-to-house teams to facilitate vaccination efforts. On Sunday it is the booth day followed by house-to-house activities to identify and vaccinate missed children in all rural, tribal, and urban areas on March 4 and 5. Additionally, a special effort will be made on March 6 to target major urban areas for further coverage. Furthermore, 1,693 mobile teams have been arranged to cover identified high-risk areas such as slums, nomadic settlements, construction sites, brick kilns, and other migratory areas. In addition, 1,087 transit booths have been established in locations such as bus stations, railway stations, airports, melas, bazaars, and tourist places to reach mobile populations effectively.
Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare   J Nivas emphasised that to administer the vaccination smoothly across the state, the Department of Health and Family Welfare has mobilized 1,55,420 vaccinators and appointed 4,116 supervisors. The state has received 67,76,100 doses of bOPV vaccine from the Government of India, which have been distributed to districts to meet the demand.
He further informed that in addition to logistical arrangements, the state is actively engaged in creating awareness about the importance of polio vaccination. Strategies include miking, tom-tom announcements, public address systems, and radio jingles aired on FM channels. Moreover, He added that indelible marker pens and various Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials such as booth banners, field banners, posters, and flex banners had been distributed to districts to reinforce messaging.