KMC to administer polio vaccines at homes, not in camps

Keeping in mind the necessity of maintaining social distance to check the spread of COVID- 19, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to visit households, instead of organising immunisation camps, for administering polio vaccines to children, a senior official of the civic body said on Monday.

Keeping in mind the necessity of maintaining social distance to check the spread of COVID- 19, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to visit households, instead of organising immunisation camps, for administering polio vaccines to children, a senior official of the civic body said on Monday. The hampering of routine immunisation of children against polio during the coronavirus lockdown had triggered concerns about a possible resurgence of the vaccine- preventable paralytic disease among health experts.

"In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to avoid gatherings. So we shall visit households to vaccinate the children. This is a big task amid this pandemic and it will be quite challenging for us. But we will do it," the official said.

All these years, polio vaccines were administered to children in KMC-organised camps. Health workers would then conduct house-to-house visits and give polio drops to those who were left out. Such camps were held four times a year in the city.

On Sunday, the KMC organised polio camps in its jurisdiction for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March this year, he said. "This programme will continue throughout the week," the official said.