According to the health officials, more than 1 lakh children below the age of five were administered oral polio vaccine across Ludhiana district on Sunday as the National Pulse Polio immunisation campaign begins.The Pulse Polio campaign will continue over the next few days through house-to-house visits as part of the district’s effort. (HT File)The campaign was inaugurated at civil hospital by civil surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur and district immunisation officer Dr Harpreet Singh, who administered the first doses to children.According to the health department, 1,01,571 children received the life-saving polio drops at booths across the district on the opening day of the campaign.Dr Kaur said the department’s priority is to ensure that every child below five years receives the oral polio vaccine, irrespective of whether the child has already been vaccinated under the routine immunisation programme.She appealed to parents to cooperate with health teams during the upcoming house-to-house phase of the campaign so that no eligible child is left uncovered.District immunisation officer Dr Singh said intensive door-to-door visits would now begin to vaccinate children who could not reach the booths on Sunday.“Health teams will visit households across rural, urban, and peri-urban areas to ensure 100% coverage of all eligible children,” he added.The civil surgeon appreciated the efforts of vaccination teams, supervisors, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, volunteers, and officials from various departments for ensuring the smooth conduct of the first phase of the campaign. She also thanked parents for bringing their children to the vaccination booths.The Pulse Polio campaign will continue over the next few days through house-to-house visits as part of the district’s effort to maintain its polio-free status. The health department has once again urged parents and guardians to ensure that every child below five years of age receives the two life-saving drops during the campaign.