National Polio Immunisation Day rescheduled to Jan 31

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has rescheduled the 'National Polio Immunisation Day' to January 31 in view of the COVID-19 vaccination drive scheduled to take place on Saturday.

"With the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive scheduled to be rolled out on January 16, the MoHFW in consultation with the office of President of India has rescheduled the Polio vaccination day to January 31, 2021," the Government of India said on Thursday.

President Ramnath Kovind will launch the Polio National Immunisation Day, also known as "Polio Ravivar" on January 30, 2021, by administering polio drops to some children at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 11.45 am, the Ministry said.

"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," it stated.

On January 8, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had announced a three-day national immunisation drive for polio from January 17.

( With inputs from ANI )