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National Immunization (Vaccine) Day

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Published on March 15, 2021 | Est Read Time: 3 min

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was clear that only a vaccine would halt it’s spread. As a result, the whole world jumped into the development race. While some countries, such as the UK and US focused on developing vaccines with the highest possible efficacy rate, others such as India, geared up to become the vaccine production powerhouse of the world.

As India gears up to embark on one of the largest vaccination drives in the world, let’s visit the last time the country had a vaccination drive on a massive scale.

National Immunization Day

National vaccination or National Immunization Day is celebrated by the government of India on the 16th March to mark the administration of the first polio vaccine in 1995. This marks the first dose of vaccines to be administered under the Pulse Polio Campaign, one that was aimed at eradicating polio, through the vaccination of all children under a certain age against polio.

The Pulse Polio Campaign

The Pulse Polio campaign was the biggest weapon in India’s arsenal against polio. The campaign, recommended by the world health organisation, the campaign aimed to immunize children under the age of 5 against the Poliovirus in an attempt to effectively decapitate its wild spread. The campaign was a result of India committing to the resolutions passed by the World Health Assembly for Global Polio eradication, in 1998.

As part of the campaign, two forms of the vaccine were administered: An IPV, or Inactivated Polio vaccine, and an OPV, or Oral Polio vaccine. Children below the age are given two drops of the vaccine, and this was done through a number of national and subnational immunization rounds.

Considered to be one the most successful immunization drives, the campaign resulted in India being declared ‘polio free’ in 2014, as it was taken off the World Health Organization’s list of countries that have wild polio spread. The last case of polio was subsequently reported in the country on the 13th of January in 2011.

The Pulse Polio campaign highlights the importance of vaccines and immunization drives, while also providing a proof of concept to the country that it can successfully carry out immunization drives throughout the country. In current times, when the entire world awaits mass distribution of the various covid19 vaccines that has   been developed, one could benefit from reflecting back on the Pulse Polio campaign of 1995 to highlight the importance of immunization.

The importance of immunization

Immunization has proved to be a successful tool in preventing the spread of highly infectious and potentially lethal diseases. While immunization drives face some obvious logistical issues, ones which are amplified in a country like India which has a population of above 1.2 billion, its effectiveness against the rapid spread of infectious diseases, if conducted correctly, cannot be disregarded. The Pulse Polio campaign stands in as proof of this fact. Additionally, the world has often used immunization drives in order to eradicate a number of other infectious diseases such as smallpox, tetanus and measles.

It is estimated that immunisation drives help avoid between 2-3 million deaths per year. According to the world health organization, the benefits of immunization and immunization drives are not limited to our health, it also has significant social and economic effects as well. A healthy population is a sign of a striving society. Additionally, if there is an infectious disease, those who are infected with it are likely to not be able to participate in the workforce, while some choose to stay away due to a concern about their health. This can especially be noticed during the new age pandemic based on the covid19 virus that we are facing today, wherein the economy was brought to a virtual standstill as the virus ran rampant.

Conclusion

The National Immunization Day celebrated by India on the 16th of March every year is a testament to the success of vaccines and immunization. Covid -19 will not be the last pandemic, nor the last major vaccination drive, and whilst such national initiatives help tackle such health problems at scale; it is important to ensure you look after yourself and your loved ones as well. While you cannot always prevent infection, you can make the process of treatment more emotionally and financially relaxing through health insurance. Health insurance plans ensure that in the event of infection, you can get the treatment you need without compromising your financial security.

Disclaimer:  The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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