19 June: Polio Sub-National Immunization Day in 11 states

The states included for the first Sub-National Immunization Day for 2022 are Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal

NewsBharati    18-Jun-2022 17:34:48 PM
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New Delhi, Jun 18: The first Sub-National Immunization Day for 2022 for administering Polio vaccine drops is being conducted from Jun 19 in 11 states and UTs of the country. The states included for the drive are Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

Polio 
 
 
During this Polio campaign, around 3.9 Cr children less than 5 years of age are targeted to be given polio drops through booth, house-to-house, mobile and transit teams. In order to provide additional protection to children, the govt of India has also introduced the injectable inactivated Polio virus Vaccine into its routine immunization program. The govt has urged all parents to get their children, less than 5 years of age, vaccinated against Polio.
 
 
 
 
 
India, along with 10 other countries in the South-East Asia Region of WHO, was certified polio - free on Mar 27 2014. The last case of polio in the country was reported on Jan 13 2011 from Howrah, West Bengal. Globally, polio is still endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Though India has been certified “polio-free”, the risk of wild poliovirus importation or the emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses persists until global eradication, which highlights the need for maintaining high population immunity and sensitive surveillance in the country.
 
While India is making efforts to protect its children from more and more Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs) by introducing additional vaccines under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP), it is important that all vaccines also reach every last child in the country. The lessons learned and systems created under the National Polio Program are being used to strengthen routine immunization and achieve more than 90 pc full immunization coverage.