Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday launched the National Polio Immunization Drive for 2022 by administering polio drops to children below five years of age in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.
Addressing the Occasion, the health minister said, “India’s strategic fight against polio is a success story of India’s public health policy against vaccine-preventable diseases”.
“We need to continue to be vigilant and ensure that every child under 5 years of age must get polio drops”, he added.
What is Universal Immunization Program?
Universal Immunization Program of the Union Government aims to protect children from diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.
In recent months, the program has introduced several new vaccines like Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), Rotavirus vaccine, and Measles-Rubella vaccine (MR) in the recent past.
Further, to provide additional protection to our children, the Government of India has also introduced the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine into its routine immunization program.
Talking about the Universal Immunization Program Dr. Mandaviya said, “while we are making efforts to protect our children from more and more diseases, it is important that all vaccines under the program reach every child of our country”.
Mission Indradhanush and Polio Vaccination Drive
The objective of Mission Indradhanush or Polio Vaccination Drive is to protect our children against such deadly diseases.
Talking about this program the health minister that since our neighboring countries are still not polio-free, we should remain vigil and continue the vaccination program.
Urging all families to come forward to get their children Vaccinated he said that ”over 15 crore children of age less than 5 years will be vaccinated in the coming months. Door-to-door Vaccination campaigns through robust micro-planning will be done to ensure that no one is left”.
The Union Health Secretary highlighted the achievements and the way forward to implement the National Immunisation Programme.
He said, “Though India is polio-free, it is still our responsibility to remain vigil. Transit teams deployed at all the states to ensure immunization. And, continuous pulse polio implementation at borders are happening as our neighboring countries are still reporting Polio Cases.”
Polio National Immunization Day 2022
The Polio National Immunization Day 2022 (NID) will be organized across the country on Sunday, 27th February 2022.
India conducts one nationwide NID and two Sub-National Immunization Day (SNIDs) for polio every year to maintain population immunity against wild poliovirus and to sustain its polio-free status.
During the Polio NID, Over 15 crore children will be covered across all 36 States and UTs in 735 districts. During the drive, polio drops will be provided to children through 7 lakh booths across the country.
Approximately 23.6 crore houses will be visited by nearly 24 lakh volunteers and 1.5 lakh supervisors.
The booth activities will be followed by house-to-house surveillance (mop-up rounds) over the next two to five days to identify and vaccinate children who missed getting vaccinated at the booths.
Vaccination teams have also been deployed at bus terminals, railway stations, airports, and ferry crossings to vaccinate children in transit to ensure no child misses the life-saving dose.
Stressing on the importance of observing National Immunisation Day, the Union Health Minister said, that the aim of Swastha Bharath can only be achieved if our children are healthy.
Polio in India
India has been free of polio for more than a decade, with the last case of wild poliovirus reported on 13th January 2011.
However, India continues to remain vigilant to prevent re-entry of the poliovirus into the country from neighboring countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where wild poliovirus continues to cause the disease.
It is also ensured that all measures for safety during a pandemic are observed by following all COVID Appropriate Behaviors (CAB) such as preventing overcrowding at booths, maintaining physical distance, wearing masks, washing hands, and administering polio drops in well ventilated-settings.