The incident took place at a primary health center in Yavatmal on Sunday during the National Pulse Polio vaccination campaign, said Shrikrishna Panchal, a senior official on the Yavatmal district council.
The incident came to light after one of the children complained of agitation and vomiting, Panchal told CNN.
All children have been admitted to the district’s Government Medical College and are in a stable condition, the official said.
An investigation has been launched against the three health workers, including a doctor, who was present at the time of the incident, he added.
On Sunday, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare started a three-day pan-Indian polio vaccination.
Polio was once a very common virus. In some young children it can affect the nerves and cause muscle weakness or paralysis. There is no treatment and no cure, but getting vaccinated can prevent infection.
In 2014, the World Health Organization stated that India was polio-free after three years without an endemic case.
Five years earlier, India was home to nearly half of polio cases worldwide and is considered one of the most technically difficult places to eradicate the disease, due to its sanitation issues and high population density.
Polio eradication in India is heralded as one of the greatest achievements of the global health effort, but vaccination programs and surveillance must continue to prevent outbreaks.
Polio has been eradicated from Southeast Asia, America, Europe, most of Australasia and Africa. Wild types of polio now only circulate in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.