As COVID vaccination gets set to kick off, pulse polio vaccination postponed indefinitely
New
Delhi,
Jan
13:
In
view
of
the
upcoming
large-scale
Covid-19
vaccination
drive,
the
central
government
has
postponed
the
National
Pulse
Polio
vaccination
drive
indefinitely.
"Due
to
unforeseen
activities,
it
is
decided
to
postpone
the
scheduled
Polio
NID
(national
immunisation
day)
round
from
17th
January
2021
till
further
notice",
the
Ministry
of
Health
and
Family
Welfare
has
informed.
Every year, the pulse polio vaccination begins on January 17, however this year the first phase of Covid-19 vaccination will begin on January 16 and so the polio drive has been postponed.
The
vaccination
drive
against
coronavirus
in
India
will
kick
off
on
January
16,
2021.
The
Covid-19
vaccination
would
go
on
for
almost
six
months
as
close
to
44
lakh
people
will
be
administered
the
dose
twice.
The priority will be given to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers, estimated to be around 3 crores, followed by those above 50 years and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crores.
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Notably,
earlier
on
January
8,
Union
Health
Minister
Dr
Harsh
Vardhan
announced,
a
three-day
national
immunisation
drive
for
polio
would
begin
in
the
country
on
January
17.
Despite
no
cases
of
wild
polio
reported
since
2009,
India
has
not
yet
been
officially
declared
as
polio-free
by
the
World
Health
Organisation
(WHO).