Implications of IPV Introduction in National Immunization Schedule and Strategies to Combat Shortages

Abstract

With the upcoming globally synchronized switch from t OPV to b OPV for commitment of countries to be free from t OPV, 156 countries have pledged to stop using the same and replace it either with b OPV and IPV combination or only IPV. Thus there is humongous demand of IPV against the production capacity of the vaccine across the globe. There is an urgent need to explore various strategies to combat the forthcoming crisis in the given demand supply shortage and also in the post eradication era. Also it is important to consider the cost effective strategies for the middle and low income countries for sustainability once IPV has been included in the programme. Received: April 30, 2016; Accepted: May 10, 2016; Published: June 28, 2016 *Corresponding author: Dr. Pragya Sharma, Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India, E-mail: