WHO raises concern about wastage of polio vaccine in Ukraine

The World Health Organisation has raised concern about the fact of millions of doses of polio vaccine likely to be wasted in Ukraine, after a patient group raised strong concerns about the doses being given as potentially unsafe.

According to the WHO guidelines, the oral polio vaccine must be kept frozen while in storage, to treat it as clinically appropriate to be given to patients. Polio was identified in the Ukraine last month, the first time in nine years.

However, according to the all-Ukrainian Council for Patients' Rights and Safety, the issue under consideration is that vaccines partially thawed out on the plane to Ukraine and now shouldn't be used _ a proposition being considered this week by the Ukrainian government.

The World Health Organization says it's worried that millions of doses of polio vaccine might be wasted in the Ukraine after concerns were raised by a patient group that the doses are unsafe.

WHO's European director Zsuzsanna Jakab said the vaccine is "absolutely safe" and that it's crucial a planned vaccination campaign start next week to protect Ukrainian children from the paralyzing disease.