BENGALURU: On Day One of the pulse polio drive to mark National Immunisation Day, the Department of Health and Family Welfare vaccinated 58.10 lakh children below five years of age, in booths across 31 districts. The department estimates that there are 63,73,840 children below the age of five in the state. So far, 91.16% of them have been covered.
The drive will continue for another three days through door-to-door visits by accredited social health activists, health officers, anganwadi workers and other staffers recruited by the health department. The maximum number of children were vaccinated in Bengaluru Urban (61.66 lakh), followed by Belagavi (48.37 lakh), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike limits (47.15 lakh), Ballari (31.03 lakh) and Kalaburagi (29.76 lakh). As many as 3,026 children were vaccinated in BBMP limits outside their homes and 51,871 in transit points and markets among other places.
Karnataka Milk Federation created awareness on the drive by printing its dates on Nandini milk packets. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) also displayed awareness messages on their display boards at various metro stations.