About 73 lakh children aged below five will be vaccinated against polio during the annual National Pulse Polio programme in the State, beginning January 23.

The massive drive involves over 97,110 vaccinators, 48,995 teams and 31,618 booths. As many as 1,672 transit teams and 934 mobile units have been constituted to ensure that the vaccination reaches the children of migrating families as well.

The drive will be held in two phases - January 23 and February 27. Children will be vaccinated at all government hospitals, primary health centres, government schools and anganwadi centres.

Door-to-door survey

Health volunteers and anganwadi workers will conduct a three-day door-to-door survey in rural areas and for four days in urban areas after the drive. “This is to ensure that no child is left out of the drive,” Health Commissioner D N Nayak said on Friday. The department has set a target of administering 97.88 lakh pulse polio drops this year. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will launch the programme in Bangalore.

Nayak said there was no harm in administering the vaccine more than the prescribed seven doses. Pulse polio drops can also be given to children suffering from fever, diarrhoea, etc.

However, children in critical condition or those admitted to the intensive care unit should be given the vaccine only after they recover, officials said.

The vaccines, supplied by the Union government have already been dispatched to designated centres.

A polio case was detected in Ramanagara in 2007 following which the Health Department conducted a 10-day drive covering 1.5 lakh children.