National Polio Immunisation programme rescheduled by Centre to January 31.
: The National Pulse Polio immunisation for children below five years which was postponed until further notice, has been rescheduled to January 31.
Earlier, the programme was scheduled to take place on January 17 across India. However, in a letter dated January 9, the Centre had, instructed the States and UT’s about the postponement.
The announcement came when the country is all set to inoculate, as many as three crore healthcare and frontline workers with the Covid-19 vaccine on January 16.
In a letter dated January 14, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had informed of rescheduling the pulse polio immunisation programme to January 31, 2021.
“The massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be rolled out byPrime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16. This would be the World's largest immunisation exercise. Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with the office of thePresident of India to reschedule the Polio vaccination day to 31st January 2021â€, read the letter.
President of India will launch the polio national immunisation day on January 31 by administering Polio drops to some children at the Rashtrapathi Bhawan at 11.45 AM.
The letter also read that the decision was made in line 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.