Pulse Polio Programme, President Pranab Mukherjee, Rahstrapati Bhawan

Nearly 17.4 crore children across the country will be administered polio vaccine on Sunday, with President Pranab Mukherjee launching the Pulse Polio Programme for 2016 on Saturday by administering polio vaccine to children under five years of age at Rahstrapati Bhawan here on the eve of the National Immunisation Day.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister J.P. Nadda said polio-free status for five years is a treasure for the country.

He said as polio is now endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the world is at last stage of polio eradication.

Nadda said to mitigate the risk of importation, the immunity against polio infection is maintained through National and Sub National Polio rounds along with sustained high quality polio surveillance.

He said to provide double protection to the children, the government has introduced the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine into its routine immunisation programme along with oral polio vaccine.

Nadda also said the government is planning to switch to bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine from its present trivalent version in some months.