The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that the National Immunisation Day or Polio Ravivar has been rescheduled to January 31 in view of the massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive.
President Ram Nath Kovind will launch the Polio National Immunisation Day (Polio NID) on January 30 by administering Polio drops to some children at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 11.45 am, the ministry said in a statement,
"The decision is in keeping 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," the ministry added.
On January 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will roll out the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive, which will be the world's largest immunisation exercise.
The National Immunisation Day (NID) or the Pulse Polio Immunisation programme was scheduled from January 17 across the country. However, the ministry postponed the polio national immunisation programme till further notice, citing unforeseen activities.
“This is to inform that due to unforeseen activities, it is decided to postpone the scheduled Polio NID (National Immunisation Day) round from January 17, 2021 till further notice," the ministry had stated.
