How much vaccine does it take?

Two drops of polio vaccine in every child's mouth is the goal. The vaccine must be kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for it to stay effective. It is packed in boxes of 1,000 vials which is enough to immunize 20,000 children. The 1,000 vials hold 40,000 drops of the vaccine, if my math is correct.

 

Creating and getting the vaccine to the field.

After the vaccine is created in India, it is stored in walk-in freezers until it is shipped on dry ice to an area where it will be administered. The journeys can last up to 8 hours in heat of 110 degrees Fahrenheit or more. There the vials are again kept in freezers, (or for short-term storage, in ice-lined refrigerators), for up to a month. In the field, volunteers carry vials of vaccine in small coolers that hold four ice packs. This process is called the "cold chain"

 

How can you tell if the vaccine goes bad?
Each vial has a white circle on the label that darkens as the temperature of the vaccine rises. When the circle turns to the same color as the label, the vial must be discarded. All of the volunteers know when and why the vaccine goes bad.

 

Finding cases of critical stage polio.

Its extremely important that no cases of polio in the critical stage be missed. India's National Polio Surveillance Project is a partnership between the World Health Organization and the government of India. Its like a spy agency that gathers intelligence about the poliovirus' whereabouts that pinpoints where its circulating and generically maps its origin, so that the necessary resources can be strategically deployed to where they are needed the most.

 

How Rotary is making a difference.

Between 2007 and 2008, one of India's critical area's percent of polio victims was reduced from 70% to 29%. The difference was the result of help from a Rotary-led initiative of Muslim leaders educating Muslim communities about the safety of the polio vaccine.

 

There are approximately 100,000 Rotarians living and working with Indian citizens in every state in India.

 

$4,250,000,000 (that's BILLION) US dollars.

Rotary and its partners have mobilized US$4.25 billion from public sector donors for global polio eradication. In India the government has committed nearly $700 million to help eradicate polio.

 

The final four.
India is one of four remaining polio endemic countries. The others are Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

 

What happens when a polio case is confirmed?

The action begins immediately with an awareness campaign in the area with banners, pamphlets, maps, etc. announcing the immunization day. The vaccine is shipped, unloaded and transported while keeping the "cold chain" intact. Volunteers are trained to administer the vaccine, how to give the drops and how to use the vial monitor. Makeshift shelters are constructed where families can rest overnight during the multiday journeys to get to the immunization booths.

 

Purple pinkys

Children that have been immunized get a purple finger nail painted on their pinky. Children without a purple pinky are directed to booths to get their two drops.

 

12,000 drops per second ! !

In April 2008 almost 73 million children were immunized in India. That's 146,000 drops or about 6,000 children per second ! !