As India started to evacuate the stranded people from Afghanistan, the area recently captured over by the Taliban insurgents, the Centre on Sunday asserted that it will also administer polio vaccines to the Afghan residents who reached the country for free. The move said the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is a preventive measure against the wild poliovirus.
Posting a photo of the ongoing vaccination of the evacuees at the Delhi International airport, Mandaviya on Sunday tweeted: “We have decided to vaccinate Afghanistan returnees with free Polio Vaccine – OPV & IPV, as a preventive measure against Wild Polio Virus. Congratulations to the Health Team for their efforts to ensure public health. Take a look at the vaccine drive at Delhi International Airport.”
However, Polio is still present and has not been completely removed from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Several other countries have been working at a continuous pace to carry out the evacuation process of the Afghanistan nationals smoothly after the August 15 terror attack took place.
On Sunday, India evacuated around 168 passengers including 107 Indian nationals with the aid of the Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft that landed at the Hindon IAF base in Ghaziabad. Air India flight also migrated 87 Indians to Delhi today. Till then, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said the government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from Afghanistan.
