The second round to immunise children against polio will begin on February 21. At least one lakh children in addition to those immunised in the first round will be vaccinated this time.
In the first round held on January 17, as many as 74.26 lakh children aged between one and five were immunised. Since one lakh children are estimated to have been born across Karnataka in the four weeks since, a higher target has been given for the second round.
On the first day, polio drops will be administered at 32,617 designated booths across Karnataka, including 2,000 in Bengaluru. On February 22, 23 and 24, a door-to-door campaign will be conducted across the State where volunteers will carry out a survey to identify children who have not been immunised, said Dr A Ramachandra Bairy, Deputy Director (Immunisation), Department of Health and Family Welfare. “Children who were immunised in January must be vaccinated again,” he told Deccan Herald. “It will be a booster for them.”
To target the travelling public, the department will deploy 1,732 transit teams at railway and bus stations, airports and toll gates across Karnataka. On the ground, there will be 1,205 mobile teams, 1,736 transit teams and at least 1.3 lakh volunteers to carry out the immunisation programme.
On Day One of the first round, 86.83 per cent children were immunised. Mandya reported the highest percentage of immunisation and Kalaburagi the lowest.
Northern Bengaluru, which has a significant population of migrants, has been the focus of the programme.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has sought help from nonprofits to bring children to the booths.
Published 16 February 2016, 20:50 IST