Mumbai: Health Minister Deepak Sawant on Tuesday said the contaminated polio vaccines provided by Bio-Med were not supplied in Maharashtra. While a high-level meeting has been scheduled in Delhi on Wednesday, Dr. Sawant said there is no need to panic in the State.
The vaccines possibly contaminated with the P2 strain, which was eradicated in 1999 and the vaccines for which stopped in April 2016, has triggered a nationwide debate and raised fears of a resurgence of the virus. “After identification of type 2 polio virus, a Central government team conducted examinations and found that the virus was present in bOPV vials produced by the company. The Centre took the decision to stop the use of this vaccine on September 10,” Dr. Sawant said. However, a sewage sample from Mumbai tested positive for P2 following which an intensified immunisation drive was started in the city.
