The Government of India celebrates March 16 as the ‘National Vaccination Day’ to honor and appreciate the front-line health workers for their contribution to the vaccination of citizens of the country; The day was first celebrated in 1995 with the government launching Pulse Polio Immunisation programme to fight polio.
The day is recognized to create awareness among people about the importance of vaccination in the health of human beings. Vaccination is a vital aspect as it provides immunity to the body against future encounters with the same pathogen and reduces the prevalence of several deadly diseases.
With vaccines, several diseases and viruses like COVID-19, chicken pox, tetanus, rubella, and polio are prevented. India has certainly realized the importance of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were waiting for a miracle vaccine to get rid of the deadly coronavirus infection.
History
The Government of India has designated March 16 as National Vaccination Day, to be commemorated each year. This date was first officially celebrated in 1995, after the initiation of the Pulse Polio Immunization program. The first dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine was given on this day in 1995 as part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which began in 1988.
Children of age 0-5 years are administered two drops of the vaccine orally at public health centres. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the last Polio case was reported in West Bengal’s Howrah in 2011 and the WHO declared India Polio free on March 27, 2014.
Significance
This day draws attention to how vaccines and immunization programs are crucial for saving lives. People in the world can live healthy lives due to these programs. Moreover, National Vaccination Day also talks about the remarkable human achievements that are the development of vaccines.
In recognition of this, the day is also marked as the perfect opportunity to thank researchers, scientists, and healthcare workers who ensure people can get these vaccines. It is in recognition of their tireless efforts to develop vaccines that save countless lives that National Vaccination Day is marked.
Furthermore, the day also provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the availability and accessibility of vaccines and encourages people to take advantage of vaccination programs to protect themselves and their families from preventable diseases.
Theme
In 2022, the theme was, ‘Vaccines Work For Everyone’. However, the theme for this year is not announced yet.
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