Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 14 February 2026
WHO prequalifies Biological E. Limited’s novel oral polio vaccine type 2 to boost outbreak response
Exam-focused facts from the 14 February 2026 current affairs briefing.
Key facts
- The World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified an additional novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) on 13 February 2026.
- Biological E. Limited manufactures the vaccine using bulk material transferred from PT Bio Farma.
- UNICEF and other UN agencies can now procure the vaccine for outbreak response programmes.
- nOPV2 is more genetically stable than traditional oral polio vaccine, lowering the risk of seeding new outbreaks.
- WHO noted that expanding nOPV2 manufacturers improves supply reliability for countries facing circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, especially in under-immunised communities.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported a significant decline in wild polio cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.