6 Haryana districts to be included in polio immunisation drive

Six districts of Haryana will be included in Sub-National Immunisation day (SNID) round for polio, which is scheduled from December 8, as per the recent decision of Indian Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) for Immunisation. These districts included Kaithal, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Nuh.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Director, Dr Virender Yadav chaired the State Task Force meeting held at Panchkula today to review the preparedness. The State Immunisation Officer, state headquarters' officers, District Immunisation Officers and representatives from stakeholders departments i.e. Women and Child Development, Elementary and Secondary Education, Labour, Urban Local Bodies, Panchayati Raj, Public relations, ESI, Ayush, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Indian Medical Association and Indian Academy of Paediatrics, were present in the meeting.

Dr Yadav, while addressing the meeting, said it was a matter of huge pride that due to consistent hard work the country and Haryana continue to remain polio free since 2011. "It is pertinent to mention that two countries in Africa  -- Malawi and Mozambique -- have reported polio virus with links to Pakistan after more than 10 years of being polio free, hence it is important to cover all eligible 0-5 years beneficiaries in upcoming SNID round on December 8," he said.

He further said to ensure complete enlisting and micro-planning for 100 per cent coverage of these vulnerable populations residing in high-risk areas like urban slums, nomadic sites, construction sites, brick kilns, poultry farms, factories, sugarcane crushers, stone-crushing zones, etc.

“Training of all vaccinators is to be done. Officials from the state headquarters will be sent to each district for supervision and monitoring. The district-level supervision plan to be prepared for the real-time feedback of activity and ensure multi-tier supervision in your district,” he added.