Pulse polio drive tomorrow in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to hold the National Pulse Polio Programme on March 3 and has urged all parents with children less than five years of age to get their kids vaccinated.

According to an estimate by the civic body, there are close to 11.12 lakh children below the age of five in the city. The vaccination programme will be conducted at 145 urban primary health centres, 228 Namma Clinics, dispensaries, Anganwadi centres, and schools. Mobile teams will also be deployed to conduct the drive at bus stands, railway stations, malls, private nursing homes, medical colleges, parks, and metro stations.

A total of 3,403 booths along with 545 stationary teams and 380 mobile teams will work on the ground. BBMP has deployed 15,354 vaccinators and 758 supervisors to ensure a smooth vaccination process.

India was declared polio-free in 2014. However, a few cases are being reported from the neighbouring countries and it is important to be cautious, the authorities said.