Injectable vaccine to replace polio drops

Injectable Polio Vaccine (injections) will replace the polio drops, as part of Pulse polio programme from April, 2016 in the country.

The injectable polio vaccine will be introduced after completing the ongoing pulse polio immunization last round programme scheduled for January 17 and February21, 2016.   

The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced Injectable polio vaccine (IPV) in place of Oral polio vaccine (OPV), for administration the children bellow  three years.

The WHO is changing the present trivalent pulse polio method to bivalent from next year by introducing polio injection.

Injectable polio vaccine (IPV) will be given to the children from three and half months old to bellow one year and it will be a onetime vaccination unlike polio drops.  

Polio injection will be given as third dose for the children who have taken polio drops in two doses earlier.

Pulse polio injection will be administered to right thigh of the children while Pentavalent injection to left thigh. The pulse polio programme has been launched in 1995. The developed countries like America has been administering OPV to  children already.

Dr Thodasam Chandu, district immunization officer, who recently attended workshop on introducing injectable polio vaccine( IPV) organized by the WHO in Hyderabad, said there would be no need of giving booster dose with if injetable polio vaccine is administered.

He said no polio case had been reported in the last four years in the country but there is every possibility of getting infected with polio virus due to immigrants from six countries where polio cases have been detected recently.

‘Each polio vaccine costs Rs 120 and the vaccine will be introduced in the country in phased manner. It may be introduced in the backward districts of Adilabad and Mahaboobnagar in the first phase in Telangana’, said Dr Chandu.