Vaccines provide the body with immunity. Many illnesses and viruses, including COVID-19, chicken pox, tetanus, rubella, and polio, can be avoided with vaccinations. The Indian government recognises the 16th March as National Vaccination Day. The day was first observed when the government introduced the Pulse Polio Immunization Program to combat polio.

History

In accordance with a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign that began in 1988, the first dose of the oral polio vaccine was administered on March 16, 1995. The government launched the “Do Boond Zindagi Ki” campaign in 1998 to raise public awareness of the advantages of immunisation.

At public health facilities, two drops of the vaccine are given orally to children ages 0 to 5. The last case of polio was detected in West Bengal’s Howrah in 2011, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India polio-free on March 27, 2014.

The significance of the day

National Vaccination Day is observed to raise public awareness of the advantages of immunizing both children and adults. The best way to protect against and prevent highly contagious diseases is through vaccination. Also, it urges people to be healthy and emphasizes the importance of vaccinations.

India recently saw how one vaccine enabled nearly every resident to develop immunity to Covid-19 even as new versions proliferated. 2,20,64,71,236 doses of the Covid vaccination have been given in the nation.

Some famous Quotes by renowned personalities

• If you want to save your child from polio, you can pray or you can inoculate. … Choose science. ― Carl Sagan
• It’s important for children to be vaccinated so that they have the opportunity to become adults. ― Brad McKay
• Misinformation or distrust of vaccines can be like a contagion that can spread as fast as measles. — Theresa Tam
• With infectious disease, without vaccines, there’s no safety in numbers ― Seth Berkley
• Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. It’s a simple message parents need to keep hearing. ― Jeffrey Kluger