Polio vaccine: Govt talking to minority leaders

'We want to put the final nail in the coffin of the virus', says Anbumani Ramadoss.

Noting that there has been "complacency" in the polio immunisation campaigns, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday said the government has increased discussion with minority leaders to dispel rumors about the vaccine.

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"There has been complacency in the two districts of Uttar Pradesh, the nucleus of this year's polio virus. We will ensure that the same complacency is not repeated again," he told reporters after attending a round table conference on polio and other public health issues with experts from Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta (USA).

The minister said they have taken up a series of discussions with minority leaders, cutting across party lines, to dispense with rumours surrounding the polio vaccination.

"Some issues were raked up," he said, hinting at rumors about minority community not taking their children for vaccination, believing that it would make them impotent.

"We want to put the final nail in the coffin of the virus," he said, expressing hope that by next year the situation would be better.

The minister also said the ministry has been getting full cooperation from the Uttar Pradesh government in wiping out the virus.