Parents held for refusing polio vaccination in Quetta

QUETTA: Quetta administration on Sunday arrested five individuals who refused to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio, ARY News reported.

Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamooun, accompanied by a polio team, visited various areas of Sariab and 15 children of reluctant parents were administered the polio vaccine after persuasion, according to district administration.

Despite repeated warnings, five parents who continued to refuse vaccination were taken into custody.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif launched a nationwide anti-polio campaign for the year 2025 by administering polio drops to children under five.

Addressing the launching ceremony, PM Shehbaz reaffirmed his government’s commitment to eliminate the disease from Pakistan.

He said that millions of children nationwide will be the focus of the national polio vaccine campaign, which aims to protect their health and future.

In order to eradicate the illness, the prime minister hoped that committed teams would labor around the clock and reach remote places and communities. He also added that these teams would effectively fulfill the enormous national duty by giving it their all.

In addition to being a setback, the prime minister stated that a total of 77 polio cases were reported in the nation over the last year, which presented a significant difficulty.