India introduces a different polio shot

Bangalore: With polio having been eradicated in India, the focus is now on carrying out a small change in the routine immunization program. This involves withdrawing the live vaccine first and introducing a dose of inactivated vaccine in the form of an injection before facilitating a global switch in the program itself.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO’s- Regional Director for ‘South- East Asia’, revealed this while speaking on the ‘Consultation on Polio-Immunization - South India, organized by World Health Organization here recently . Dr Singh said Phase I of the strategy involves a global switch from the trivalent to bivalent vaccine.

" Prior to this switch, the introduction of Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) will be taken up in the country. The aim is to introduce IPV in the entire region by 2015 followed by the global switch in vaccine in 2016," she informed.