Injectable vaccine to prevent re-emergence of polio launched

November 30, 2015 01:45 pm | Updated 01:48 pm IST - New Delhi

An injectable vaccine to prevent re-emergence of polio was launched today by the government and it will be administered in addition to polio drops to double the protection from the deadly virus, which has chances of coming back.

The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) will be introduced in the routine immunisation programme of the government to do away with the risk of re-introduction of the disease.

Health Minister J.P. Nadda said that though India was certified polio-free on March 27, 2014, the battle against polio is not over yet.

“The virus is still active in our neighboring countries — Pakistan and Afghanistan. Cases of polio still happen there.

So the risk of re-introduction of the disease remains, particularly through importation from these endemic countries,” he said.

“We are there to give them all kinds of support including technical, experience or vaccine-related assistance. But we will have to be vigilant till the virus is eradicated globally,” Mr. Nadda said at a function here to launch the vaccine.

“To ensure that our children are doubly protected from polio, the IPV is being introduced into the routine immunisation programme,” he said

In the first phase, the IPV injection is being introduced in six states — Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.

However, the children will continue to receive OPV (polio drops) dose under routine immunisation and in pulse polio campaigns till they are 5 years of age.

“Even after receiving the IPV vaccine with the third dose of OPV (polio drops), the children must continue to receive OPV doses under routine immunisation and in pulse polio campaigns till they are five years of age,” Health Secretary B.P. Sharma said.

He said with the elimination of Type 2 polio from the country, the government is shifting from tOPV vaccine to bOPV vaccine in April 2016 and the introduction of new vaccine IPV in the immunisation programme will reduce the risk associated with the shift.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.