Polio drops will change from ‘trivalent’ to ‘bivalent’ from April 25. Principal Secretary health and family welfare, Arvind Kumar said relevant orders were issued by health ministry and being implemented by the state machinery. “The decision is based on recommendations by Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation (SAGE), the apex global body on vaccines and immunisation issues,” he said.
Director general family welfare Dr M R Malik explained that P1, P2 and P3 are three types of polio viruses. “The current vaccine includes material to combat all three strains and is therefore known as trivalent. In the course of polio campaign across the globe, P2 strain has been eliminated completely, so the new oral polio vaccine is bivalent to develop immunity against P1 and P3 strains,” said Dr Malik. As the order comes into effect, all unused stock of trivalent vaccine in public hospitals and private sector shops and institutions is being destroyed. But apprehending any foul play, health officials advised parents of infants to be careful. “We have coordinated with department of food and drug administration to seize and destroy all stock from the market,” said Kumar, adding that social organisations like Indian Medical Association have been engaged to spread awareness on the issue.
Lucknow chief medical officer Dr SNS Yadav claimed all stock from public sector hospitals would be autoclaved-“a medical process to destroy discarded medicines, vaccines and biomedical waste.” He added that the trivalent vaccine was the only source of the P2 virus and its improper handling could put the virus back into the air.
Source : Online news