Under India's Universal Immunization Programme, which vaccine is stored at the COLDEST temperature in the cold chain and is therefore placed at the BOTTOM of the ILR basket?
- A Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) ✓
- B DPT vaccine
- C BCG vaccine
- D Tetanus Toxoid (TT)
Correct answer: A. Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)
Explanation
OPV is the most cold-sensitive vaccine and must be stored at -20°C to -25°C in the primary cold chain store. At the PHC level, OPV is kept frozen at the bottom of the ILR basket. All other UIP vaccines (DPT, TT, BCG, MR, HepB) are stored at +2°C to +8°C and are never frozen.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.