Chennai, June 27 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, will inaugurate the State’s annual Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign on Sunday, reaffirming the government’s commitment to safeguarding children against poliomyelitis and sustaining India’s hard-earned polio-free status.

The Chief Minister will launch the campaign at the Adi Dravidar Welfare Higher Secondary School campus in Palavakkam, Chennai, where children below the age of five will receive the oral polio vaccine.

The statewide drive forms part of the National Pulse Polio Programme, under which every child under five years of age is administered free polio drops to ensure continued immunity against the highly infectious disease.

This year, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has set a target of vaccinating 52.91 lakh children across the State through an extensive network of immunisation centres established for the one-day campaign.

A total of 43,051 vaccination booths have been set up at government primary health centres, government hospitals, Anganwadi centres, schools, bus terminals, railway stations, toll plazas, check posts, airports and other public places where large numbers of people gather.

The objective is to ensure that every eligible child is reached, regardless of where families may be travelling on the day of the campaign.

Special arrangements have also been made to cover children living in remote and inaccessible regions, including hilly areas and isolated villages.

Mobile medical teams have been deployed to visit these locations and administer the vaccine to children who may not be able to access the fixed immunisation booths.

Health officials have appealed to parents and guardians to bring all children below the age of five to the nearest vaccination centre, irrespective of whether they have previously received routine immunisation or earlier doses of the oral polio vaccine.

Medical experts emphasise that repeated doses are essential to maintaining immunity and preventing the re-emergence of the disease.

Ahead of the launch, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran inspected the arrangements at the Palavakkam venue on Saturday. He reviewed the preparations made by civic and health officials to ensure the smooth conduct of the inaugural event and the statewide immunisation campaign.

India was declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation in 2014, and annual Pulse Polio campaigns continue to be conducted to protect children and prevent the import or resurgence of the virus.

–IANS

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