Pulse polio drive from February 14

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 22

The pulse polio immunisation programme will be held in the state from February 14. It was originally scheduled for January 17 but was postponed all over the country due to the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination drive on January 16. In the rest of the country, the immunisation will commence on January 31.

“We had written to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to postpone the pulse polio drive in Himachal to February 14 because of the elections to the Urban Local Bodies and Panchatayi Raj Institutions,” said Gopal Beri, Deputy Director, National Health Mission (NHM).

Dr Beri said that the polio drive would be held on the decided date even if it coincided with Covid vaccination. “Covid vaccination is going to be a long process, so we can’t hold back our routine work because of it. We have enough resources to conduct both side by side, if required,” he added.