IE : Pulse Polio : Of Targeted 12 lakh, 8 lakh Children covered : Sept 10, 2007

Pulse Polio : Of Targeted 12 lakh, 8 lakh Children covered
MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 9
AS many as 8,99,024 chil­dren were administered pulse polio drops in the
Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme arranged by the Brihanmumbai Munic­ipal
Corporation (BMC) on Sunday.

'Izargeting over 12 lakh kids, the BMC had set up 6,588 polio booths in all
the wards between Colaba and Mulund. This is the eighth consecutive month of
the immunisation pro­gramme synchronising with the Uttar Pradesh polio
rounds.

Dr Usha Ubale, the in­charge of Mumbai's immu­nisation drive said: "The
response this month was 69.41 per cent, which is just about okay for the
first day. Usually, we aim for at least 70 per cent response." Incidentally,
the pulse polio drive saw only 61 per cent and 64 per cent re­sponse in July
and August but Ubale blames the bad response on the rain. "Last month, when
the drive kicked off, it was raining badly and therefore lesser number of
people turned up;" she said. The best re­sponse was from Parel and Bhandup
with 80 per cent coverage while in most other wards the usual cov­erage is
up to 65 to 75 per cent. Volunteers were de­ployed inside trains, rail­way
stations, bus stands, gardens and amusements parks where children are mostly
found.

"Considering the influx of people from other cities during Ganesh Chaturthi,
we have also deployed ex­tra transit teams," Ubale said. The team focused on
tourist buses to Konkan, Goa and other nearby cities and administered
vaccination to the visitors' children before they left the city precincts.
Ubale however admitted that in spite of increased coverage, the response is
not great.
"We are always looking for more awareness, more coverage," she said.

The immunization drive which saw only 61 and 64 pc response in July and
August, got
a good 69.41 pc response on Sunday

Publicationb : IE; Section : Maharastra; Pg: 3; Date : 10/9/07