Polio drive: Health dept sets 160K target for Gurugram

The district health department will conduct a large-scale pulse polio drive from June 27 to June 29, with an aim to deliver polio doses to more than 160,000 children, said officials on Saturday

The district health department will conduct a large-scale pulse polio drive from June 27 to June 29, with an aim to deliver polio doses to more than 160,000 children, said officials on Saturday.

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In the run-up to the vaccination drive, the health department has paused the Covid-19 vaccination on weekends. It has also launched a district-wide screening drive on Saturday for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart problems.

Gurugram chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Virender Yadav said that 2,510 vaccinators will administer polio vaccine to 160,245 children at 677 booths across the district. “Children up to the age of five years would be administered the polio dose on Day One, and the vaccinators will conduct a door-to-door campaign and administer the polio vaccine to the children through the next two days,” said Yadav.

As per the plan, the department has identified 441 high-risk areas including slums, construction sites, and locations where nomads are staying in the city where the teams will administer the polio drops to the children there. “We will continue to focus on the marginalised communities,” said Yadav, adding that 116 mobile teams and 16 transit teams have been constituted for the vaccination drive.

The purpose of screening is to ensure that diseases are diagnosed in the first stage and treated before those become life-threatening, Yadav added.

On Saturday, the district health department screened 200 people for various health issues at the Daulatabad camp.

Dr Isha Narang, deputy civil surgeon, said that the screening process would be carried out across the district, and residents having symptoms of any such disease would be provided with consultation and treatment.