Shots - Health News Thu October 18, 2012 With An Army Of
Vaccinators, India Subdues Polio Originally published on Thu
October 18, 2012 6:31 pm All this week, we've been examining the
world's last remaining pockets of polio, a disease for which
there is no cure. India marked a milestone when the World Health
Organization struck it from the list of polio-endemic countries
in February after no new cases were reported for more than a
year. From Delhi, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on how, despite
poverty and poor sanitation, the world's second-most populous
country is eradicating the disease. The humanity of India washes
up at its train stations. Passengers sprawling among vagrants
wait for trains, while sweepers halfheartedly shuffle brooms in
the heat. It's Sunday, Day 1 of Immunization Week. During
national campaigns, which occur twice a year, 2 million
volunteers fan out to India's train stations, bus depots,
temples, churches and mosques, armed with vials of polio
vaccine. Checking progress at a city slum, De