The great news is that there continues to be no infections by Wild Polio Virus anywhere in the world since January 2021.
In a perverse way the polio vaccination campaign has been assisted by COVID19 as the money and resources dedicated to this campaign needed to use the infrastructure (particularly mapping) that was developed by the polio campaign. The two campaigns shared resources in many countries to the mutual benefit of all.
The use of the new Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV2) has been approved and recommended for future use by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE).
Sadly, there continues to be cases of Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus arising from the use of the old vaccine in incomplete vaccination programmes.
Polio this week as of 13 October 2021
In the Ukraine there was one clear example of polio caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. A 17-month-old unvaccinated girl from Rivne province (in the north-west of the country) acquired acute flaccid paralysis fromt her 6 vaccinated siblings who were all OK.
Summary of new cVDPV this week
– Côte d’Ivoire: one cVDPV2 case
– Nigeria: 18 cVDPV2 cases
– Tajikistan: four cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
– Ukraine: one cVDPV2 case
Countries are becoming aware of the need for complete vaccination programs to eliminate the possibility of the weakened virus in the Oral Vaccine coming back to life. Moreover, improved sanitation will reduce the likelihood of the virus being transferred from a vaccinated child to another. However, it is expected that the new vaccine will eliminate this problem.
The contributions of members of District 9620 are being used to fund the supply and distribution of the new more effective vaccine. We are playing our part in making sure that polio is eliminated by 2023.
Bruce McNaught
17th October, 2021