Port Blair: A meticulously planned immunisation drive spanning airports, seaports, bus terminals and remote island locations helped the Andaman & Nicobar Administration achieve an impressive 98 per cent coverage on the opening day of the National Immunization Day (NID) for Polio on Sunday. To ensure that no child was left behind, the Health Department set up 447 vaccination booths across the Union Territory, besides deploying special teams at Veer Savarkar International Airport, sea ports, bus terminals and inter-island vessels to vaccinate children travelling with their families. The strategy significantly enhanced accessibility and outreach, particularly in the geographically scattered islands.
Against an estimated target of 19,343 children below five years of age, as many as 18,958 received the bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) on the first day, registering an overall coverage of 98.01 per cent. While South Andaman achieved 96.66 per cent coverage, North and Middle Andaman and Nicobar districts recorded over 100 per cent coverage due to the vaccination of additional eligible children.
The State-level launch was held at the Urban Health Centre, Junglighat, where Director of Health Services Dr. H.M. Siddaraju administered the first dose and appealed to parents to ensure every eligible child is vaccinated. Councillor Aziz Ur Rahman, State Immunization Officer Dr. Avijit Roy and other Health Department officials attended the inaugural programme.
Private medical practitioners, frontline health workers and partner agencies also played a key role in the campaign, reflecting the coordinated efforts that continue to safeguard the islands’ polio-free status and strengthen routine immunisation coverage.
