Polio eradication efforts have reached a new milestone

This article is published in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The march to polio eradication has reached a new milestone.

India, once considered the most difficult place in the world to stop polio, will celebrate five years without a case this January. But our fight against the disease is not yet over, and with national stakeholders and global partners, the country continues making concerted efforts towards global polio eradication by strengthening routine immunization and introducing new vaccines that are critical to end the disease for good.

First, we are introducing the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), a key step in the final push to end polio outlined in thePolio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan (2013-2018). India launched IPV as part of the country’s national immunization program on 30 November, 2015. With 4 years and 11 months since the last polio case caused by wild polio virus was reported, the launch of IPV has been timely and strategic. The launch realizes one of the first policies that the current Government announced in 2014 – expanding the routine immunization vaccine portfolio to include IPV, Rota vaccine and Rubella vaccine (Measles Rubella –MR) – and sets the ball rolling for the launch of Rota vaccine and MR vaccine in the near future.

IPV introduction in India will soon be followed by withdrawal of oral polio vaccine (OPV) type 2, a change that minimizes the risk of circulating vaccine-derived polio. From early 2016, eligible children in India will receive bivalent OPV (bOPV) containing only OPV Type 1 and Type 3. High routine immunization coverage and concurrent administration of IPV will mitigate any risks of outbreak with circulating vaccine derived polio virus (cVDPV type 2) following withdrawal of the type 2 virus in OPV. Studies have indicated 63% sero-conversion and 98% priming against poliovirus type 2 in children vaccinated with a single dose of IPV.

The current strategy for IPV is administration of a single dose of IPV at 14 weeks with the third dose of OPV and pentavalent vaccines. There will be no change in the OPV schedule in routine immunization. The potential implication of this approach is rapid buildup of immunity during any potential circulating vaccine derived polio virus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreak in the future.

With concrete steps to improve quality, coverage and equity of routine immunization services, India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has taken commendable steps in building strategic collaborations, rigorous monitoring and programmatic outreach, including the launch of the flagship campaign Mission Indradhanush. National and international partners including WHO, UNICEF, Rotary, CORE and collaborators like Gavi have played an important role by facilitating the strengthening of India’s routine immunization health systems.

With a birth cohort of approximately 27 million kids, India is truly living up to its expectations as a leader in immunization globally. The march to protect our children continues at full speed.

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Raj Ghosh is the Deputy Director of India Vaccine Delivery at the BMGF India.

Image: A child receives a polio vaccination during an anti-polio campaign on the outskirts of Jalalabad, March 16, 2015. REUTERS/ Parwiz.