Nationwide anti-polio drive begins

ISLAMABAD: A five-day nationwide anti-polio drive has kicked-off, during which forty million children below five years age will be administered anti-polio.

This is the first nationwide campaign in the country after its four-month suspension due COVID-19 outbreak.

The scope of this campaign is much larger and seeks to vaccinate all children under the age of five through door-to-door visits by almost 270,000 vaccinators all over the country.

The polio vaccinators have received comprehensive training on how to vaccinate children safely by minimizing the threat of coronavirus outbreak.

The polio eradication programme has put strict measures in place for all staff following the government’s set guidelines on COVID-19 preventative measures.

Earlier in July and August of this year, smaller case response campaigns were conducted to vaccinate children in high-risk districts of the country.

Last week, another polio case had been reported in Balochistan, taking the provincial tally of cases to 19.

According to the health department, the case was reported in Qila Saifullah an area of Balochistan, where a 12-month old minor was confirmed battling with the crippling disease.

With the latest detection of poliovirus case in Balochistan, the number in the province so far this year has reached 19.