It was two drops of the oral polio vaccine along with a coconut flavoured toffee on Sunday at the vaccination centre in Palamau’s Ramgarh health centre, and the eyes of the kids remained glued only to the latter.

India kicked off its polio vaccination drive for the year on Sunday, where kids between ages zero to five are administered the doses, but many parents in Palamau, especially those from the tribal areas, refuse to bring their kids to the booth and ask health workers to visit them instead.

But the efforts of ANM Jyoti Theeteeo and her team did bear fruit, when they brought in the toffees with their own money, attracting kids from the district -- a move lauded by district Civil Surgeon John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy said while Sunday was the booth day for vaccination, the door-to-door campaign will be done on Monday and Tuesday, along with the procedure for administering Covishield. Instructions have been given to carry out both the vaccinations smoothly, he said.

The civil surgeon also made a surprise visit at three vaccination booths in Ramgarh, Piprahi and Sarahuwa.

He was shown the vaccine vial monitor, a device used to discard open vials of vaccine. The workers at the Ramgarh booth knew how to handle it well, Kennedy said.