Polio Vaccine

As soon as the school bell rang, 8-year-old Ruchi started walking home hastily. Her friend, Trisha, was with her. After getting off the bus, they had to walk to their homes in the same neighbourhood for a while.

- Sudha Goswami

Ruchi's mother had asked her to come home early, as she had to take Ruchi's brother, Jay, to the nearest polio clinic to get him a dose of the vaccine. Jay was 3-and-a-half years old. Every year, a polio vaccination campaign was held in their city to vaccinate all the children up to the age of five.

Ruchi had been given the vaccine at a local clinic when she was younger. Children younger than five are usually most affected by polio.

Her father had told her, "Polio is an infection that enters the body through the mouth or nose and then spreads to the throat and intestines. Then it reaches other organs and affects the central nervous system in the spine and brain."

"This disease is called 'poliomyelitis' or 'infant stroke' and can cause disability and death in children. It is spread from person to person by a virus, which attacks the infected person's brain and spinal cord causing paralysis. Their arms and legs can become disabled. Although India has been declared polio-free for seven or eight years, countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria are not yet free from it."