Govt to introduce Injectable Polio Vaccine in immunisation drive


* Government also mulling over introducing Rotavirus, Pentavalent, Measles and Rubella vaccines in immunisation drive
By Kartik Lokhande 
After using Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) in immunisation drive for years together, the Government of India will soon introduce Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV) in the drive anytime after April this year, said Dr Mohammad Sajid, Surveillance Medical Officer, World Health Organisation (WHO).
Not only this, but the Government is also mulling over introducing various other vaccines in immunisation drive. These include Rotavirus, Pentavalennt, Measles and Rubella vaccines. Already, Pentavalent vaccine is being administered in 11 states of India. It protects children from five infections namely Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, Tetanus and Hemophilias Influenza B. Pentavalent vaccine will be launched in Gadchiroli from April and preparations are under way. “The vaccine on Measles and Rubella will be introduced as the Government wants to achieve endgame for these two infections by the year 2018,” said Dr Mohammad Sajid.
Dr Sajid was replying to questions asked during a press conference in Mayor Pravin Datke’s chamber in Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Friday. Mayor had called a press conference to inform the media about National Pulse Polio Immmunisation Programme-2015, under which OPV will be administered to children between 0-5 years of age, on January 18 and February 22.
Asked about utility of IPV in polio immunisation especially after WHO declaring India as ‘polio free’, Dr Mohammad Sajid said that there was risk of the polio virus ‘behaving like Wild Polio Virus’. Hence, dose of IPV is required to be administered along with OPV during immunisation drive, he added. For past three years, no case of polio was reported in India. However, cases were reported in Pakistan (260), Afghanistan (21), and Nigeria (six).
Mayor Pravin Datke informed the reporters about National Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme-2015 to be implemented on January 18 and February 22 in the city. “We have requested Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari, and all MLAs from the city to participate in the drive and administer dose of vaccine to children at various centres,” Datke said.
The previous year, a total of 2,71,241 children in city were administered polio vaccine. There will be total 1,175 vaccination booths this time and 3,275 employees will be engaged in the drive. Besides, transit and mobile teams will administer vaccine dose to children at temples, mosques, malls, railway station, bus terminals, airport, marriage hall, construction sites, brick kilns, orphanages, slums, and to children in nomadic tribes etc. Between January 20 and 24, the teams will visit 6,89,075 houses. A total of 120 transit teams and 20 mobile teams have been constituted to implement the drive effectively.
Ramesh Singare, Chairman of NMC Health Committee; Dr Milind Ganvir, Deputy Director (Health); Dr Shyam Shende, Nodal Medical Officer, Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme, and others were present prominently in the press conference.
Meanwhile, through a press release issued here, Zilla Parishad (ZP) Vice-President Sharad Donekar informed that ZP was targetting coverage of 2,14,639 children in the age group of 0-5 years. In all, 376 transit booths and 210 mobile booths also were constituted for administration of pulse polio vaccine in the rural parts of Nagpur district. After the drive also, house-visits will be taken up to cover children left out of the immunisation drive, three days after the above-mentioned dates, stated Donekar, who is also Chairman of Health Committee of ZP. 

(16-01-15) 

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