Tom Pietrasik Video & Photography

Amit Kumar (in yellow vest), part of a vaccination transit team at Patna railway station, interacts with parents and checks the status of children by looking for ink on their fingers. Those not vaccinated are given the vaccination on the platform or train. Kumar has three years experience working on Supplementary Immunisation Activity (SIA) There are 30 teams (each consisting of two people) operating per four hour shift. The station has teams working 24 hours a day for the week of the SIA (Supplementary Immunisation Activity - ie the week of the polio round, 12-16th November 2006). The workforce is supplimented by NGO partners who have been trained by the Health Dept. The teams operate in three broad areas of the station: the platform, entry and exit locations and on the edge of the station beside taxi stands, bus stops etc. In addition there are "polio on wheels", teams (not photographed) who travel on trains between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. At Patna Station during a shift of four hours on the night of November 14th, the 30 vaccination teams checked 3,500 children and immunised 582 of them. Some families refuse to have their children vaccinated which encourages other passengers to intervene, often confronting the refusals. In these instances, transit teams are trained not to pursue vaccination but wait for emotions to calm before approaching refusals privately. ..Photo: Tom Pietrasik.Patna, Bihar, India..November 15th 2006