BENGALURU: The Union Health Ministry has said that the national polio immunisation programme which was deferred, has been rescheduled to January 31. It was supposed to be begin from January 17.
The decision was communicated to the states in a letter dated January 14.
The letter said that the massive countrywide Covid-19 vaccination drive will be rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 16 January, 2021. “This would be world’s largest immunisation exercise.
Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in consultation with the office of the President of India to reschedule the Polio vaccination day, also known as “Polio Ravivar” to 31 January.
The letter also stated that Modi will launch the Polio National Immunisation Day on January 30 by administering polio vaccine drops to some children at 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 and non-Covid essential health services proceed in tandem, the letter said.