India, Feb. 13 -- In a major boost for global public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified an additional novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), a move that strengthens the international response to polio outbreaks, media reports said.

Prequalification confirms that the vaccine meets stringent global standards for safety, quality, and effectiveness, allowing UN procurement agencies, including UNICEF, to purchase and distribute it worldwide.

However, outbreaks caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) can occur in under-immunised communities.

The newly prequalified nOPV2 is engineered to be genetically more stable than earlier vaccines, reducing the risk of seeding new outbreaks while still...