Theswitch.docxVIP

The switch from tOPV to bOPV Implementation guidelinesVersion date: 13 March 2016Please note: This document is an update of a version released in August 2015.The main changes in the March 2016 version concern the following new content:Guidance on the tOPVdisposal strategy in section 3.4.4;Suggested steps on process monitoring in section 3.5; andSuggested steps and forms on validation provided in Annex 4. List of abbreviations bOPVBivalent Oral Polio VaccineEPIExpanded Programme on ImmunizationGPEIGlobal Polio Eradication InitiativeICCInteragency Coordinating CommitteeIPVInactivated Polio VaccineMOHMinistry of HealthNSVCNational Switch Validation CommitteeOPVOral polio vaccineRIRoutine immunizationSAGEStrategic Advisory Group of Experts on ImmunizationSMIndependent switch monitorSSTSwitch support teamtOPVTrivalent oral polio vaccineWHAWorld Health AssemblyWHOWorld Health OrganizationNOTE:This document does not discuss thetechnical rationale or questions related to the global decision on the timing of the switch.Introduction1.1 BackgroundWhy this document?In May 2012, the World Health Assembly declared the completion of poliovirus eradication to be a “programmatic emergency for global public health” and called on the Director General of WHO to develop a comprehensive polio endgame strategy. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, approved by the Executive Board of WHO in January 2013, requires the removal of all oral polio vaccines (OPVs). The removal of OPVs must be done in a phased manner, from both routine programmes and campaigns, to minimize the risk of new polio cases.The first phase of OPV removal is aswitch from the current trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV), containing antigens for poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3,to bivalent OPV (bOPV), containing only types 1 and 3. The use of tOPV led to the eradication of wild poliovirus type 2, with the last detected case occurring in 1999.The global switchfrom