President Ram Nath Kovind launched the pulse polio programme for 2021 on Saturday by administering polio drops to children less than five years of age at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The President and First Lady Savita Kovind administered polio drops to children on the eve of the Polio National Immunization Day, which is observed on January 31, 2021. Around 17 crore children of less than 5 years of age will be given polio drops as part of the drive of the government to sustain polio-free status of the country.
“The countrywide drive will be supported by about 24 lakh volunteers, 1.5 lakh supervisors and many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), WHO, UNICEF, Rotary, etc. Healthcare workers will be visiting as many as 2 crore households to ensure that no child is left without the protection of the polio vaccine,” the Health Ministry noted in its release.
