By IANS
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government has given up plans to use the injectable polio vaccine (IPV) in the polio immunisation drive in the state, as it is more expensive than the oral polio vaccine (OPV) that is currently administered to children.
The IPV is produced from a killed virus and provides bloodstream immunity.
The polio drive on Sunday therefore saw a repeat of the usual oral vaccine that was given to some 35 million children.
"Not only is the injectable version extremely expensive, it is bound to encounter a lot of problems in a big state like Uttar Pradesh", UP's principal health secretary Arun Kumar Misra told IANS.
A section of the Muslim population of the state had expressed apprehensions about the use of the oral vaccine fearing it could lead to impotency and the IPV was suggested as another option.
"Earlier some experts had suggested that the system of immunization through injectables would gel more easily with the section of Muslims who were suspicious and apprehensive about the oral polio drops; however a preliminary study has brought forth some practical difficulties in the switchover," Mishra said.
"Considering that we take up nearly 35 million cases in each round, the cost hike would be enormous", said the official.
As per official estimates, the IPV would cost nearly hundred times more than the oral vaccine.
The apprehensions among the Muslims were found more rampant in parts of western Uttar Pradesh where polio cases are still detected.