Sri Vijaya Puram, June 22: India has remained free of wild polio cases since January 2011, and India’s unprecedented progress against polio has led to the certification of South East region, including India by WHO in March 2014 as polio-free. As per the recommendations of the India Expert Advisory Group (IEGA) one Single Polio National Immunization Day (NID) will conducted on 28th June, 2026, covering all the children in the age group of 0-5 years of age by administering two drops of bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) at Booths followed by house to house visits by the staffs in the next two days to search and vaccinate the missed out /unimmunized children with the goal is to ensure that no child will ever again suffer from the crippling effects of polio in the entire world.
Dr. Avijit Roy, Deputy Director (Health) and State Immunization Officer, led the briefing, emphasizing the Administration’s commitment to maintaining India’s polio-free status and expanding preventative healthcare for adolescent girls. This year, it is estimated that around 19343 children will receive the vaccine during the round in 447 booths across these Islands. A booth in the airport, Sea-port and other transit points has also been set up.
All tourists and people living in forest areas will also be covered under this program. Our Target is to cover 100% of eligible children, and we also appeal to the general public to please bring your children to the booth for polio drops on 28th June, 2026.
All the parents have been requested to visit the nearest Polio booth along with their children on 28th June, 2026 for administering the polio doses to the children.
Apart from NID, Dr. Roy also informed that a significant milestone in adolescent health has been achieved with the integration of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into the routine immunization schedule. The HPV vaccine helps in preventing cervical cancer and is now available for girls upon reaching their 14th birthday. Parents and guardians are encouraged to consult their nearest health centre to ensure adolescent girls receive this life-saving dose as part of their routine healthcare.