Fact Check: Has the Pulse Polio programme in India been postponed indefinitely

New Delhi, Jan 14: Amidst media reports of the polio immunisation day being postponed, the Union Government has clarified that the same has merely been rescheduled.

It had been reported by the media quoting Dr. Bhagwan Pawar, the district health officer for Pune district that they had got a letter that the pulse polio vaccination drive has been postponed indefinitely as no replacement date has been mentioned. The pulse polio vaccination was to start from January 17 onwards.

The Ministry of Health said in a note, ' the massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 16th January, 2021. This would be world's largest immunisation exercise. Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) in consultation with the office of the President of India to reschedule the Polio vaccination day, also known as the National Immunisation Day (NID) or "Polio Ravivar" to 31th January 2021 (Sunday).

The President will launch the Polio National Immunisation Day on 30th January 2021 (Saturday) by administering Polio drops to some children at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 11.45 am.

The decision is in keeping with the stated policy of the Health Ministry to ensure that COVID management and vaccination services as well as non-COVID essential health services proceed in tandem without adversely impacting each other.