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President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind launched the National Polio Immunisation Day for 2021 by administering polio drops to children less than five years old at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Highlights

• As per provisional report on day one, close to 89 lakh children (as per provisional data) under five years across the country were given polio drops. 
• Vaccinations were conducted at close to 7 lakh booths which were staffed with around 12 lakh vaccinators and 1.8 lakh supervisors.
• The booth activity will be followed by house-to-house surveillance (mop-up rounds) over the next two to five days to identify and vaccinate children who missed getting vaccinated at the booths.
• Vaccination teams have also been deployed at bus terminals, railway stations, airports and ferry crossing to vaccinate children in transit to ensure no child misses the life-saving dose. 
• India has been free of polio for a decade, with the last case of wild poliovirus reported on 13th January 2011.
• The country, however, continues to remain vigilant to prevent re-entry of the poliovirus into the country from neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where wild poliovirus continues to cause disease.

Polio

• Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus.
• The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis (can’t move parts of the body).

Source: PIB