Hacker News Reader

Comment by monsterix | Hacker News Reader

Here's the man credited to have started the polio eradication program in 1994.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan has keenly taken it to its fruitful conclusion as well.

The initiative to check polio started way back in 1978, with permanently disabled population still available across 5 alive generations. This number is likely to shrink rapidly in the next two decades, provided the polio vaccination program is kept abreast with advancing deadliness of poliovirus [1] and state's ability to maintain free vaccination.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliovirus

[Edited: Span of generations across which polio afflicted patients could be found is 5 and not 3 as per my original comment.]

View on HN

Dr. Harsh Vardhan was the BJP's (India's main opposition party currently) chief minister candidate for the recently held elections to Delhi - India's capital city which is also a state. You've tried to ascribe credit for India's multi-decade polio eradication efforts to him, including a link to his Twitter handle, with zero references to back this claim up.

It's a sad way to add a partisan sheen on an achievement that actually belong to the tens of thousands of people who've worked for this over decades.

Here's a better summary of India's efforts by the WHO's representative to India: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/JD8uPXvircS0rU60AIUvUN/Polio...

Have you done the research first, before politicizing the issue!?

Dr.Harsh Vardhan, was a doctor like any other, in Delhi, one of the first three states in India to start the Polio program, meaning it was not his initiative, instead it was his job to be part of it.

What really happened is explained carefully here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696658/

I can't find any trace of politics in the comment you're replying to. Has it been edited?

I think he means to say, Dr Harsh Vardhan is a leader of a major political party.

Polio eradication in India was made possible by so many people one can't really thank them all by name. There are so many volunteers, who have worked on weekends going door to door to educate the parents and deliver the vaccination and they have done it over the years.

There are doctors, nurses, government workers, even Bollywood actors who've done ads for free to spread awareness.

So you can't really thank one person, one government or one organization. This was a national movement which succeeded.

Here's the man credited to have started the polio eradication program in 1994.

the use of word "started" and the structure "the man" seems invisible to you?

This is a prime example of Pushy Politics, which has been not just used, but over abused by fanatics. Distorting History, and if so much as someone (like me here) points it out... "a man can't make a mistake?" attitude then, makes these people feel invincible.

Thus...I must quote Plato here:

You can forgive a child for staying in darkness, but the real tragedy of life is when men choose to stay away from light.

Calm down. Read about Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Wikipedia [1] before shedding all your fur here.

QUOTE

During his time in the State's Health Ministry, he launched Polio Eradication Plan in October 1994.[6] The programme was successful and was adopted throughout the whole nation by the Government of India.[7]

UNQUOTE

Please do your homework before calling others on the task. And look beyond your own version of reality, it is important. I wouldn't have even replied to you had it not been on HN.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harsh_Vardhan_(Delhi_politician...

The wiki page about him is not even 6 months old. People involved in the malicious campaign, as grand as this, don't leave any stone unturned to make what is false into truth. I cannot bring myself to believe that. Sorry, not possible.

You should have checked what your reference is. And now this is not a debate, what I said was not that he was not part of the movement. But Polio campaign was not started by him, is a fact.

Started, is someone who actually launched it on the national scale which would be the then prime minister, but should I also commit the same mistake of naming a politician and giving him all the credit? No I won't, I already said what is the known truth.

Also, if you read my reference (from US National Library Records) you would know, that the first project was launched in Tamil Nadu, then expanded to 3 states.

During his time in the State's Health Ministry, he launched Polio Eradication Plan in October 1994.[6]

The reference for this is hidden behind a login screen, which is interesting.

Maybe Dr. Vardhan is himself politically controversial for some reason? Or maybe it's considered "political" to give credit to one single doctor, when there were others spearheading the initiative as well?

Don't forget the Polish American scientist Albert Sabin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Sabin The guy developed the oral vaccine and supported the national plans to immunize large population. That is what I call a Good Genius.

First Polio Free district in India is in Kerala. We have not heard about any Harsh Vardhan here. Last Polio case in Kerala was reported in 2000 (For few decades before itself, cases in Kerala were extremely rare). World wide polio eradication was a project by WHO with a target to end the disease by 2000. Indian Government adopted this project with WHO help. Do not understand how Harsh Vardhan (do not know who he is!!) can start it. Though India is late, it is commendable that it finally achieved the goal.

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=30123 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_eradication

Reply on news.ycombinator.com