Polio eradication campaign begins in 21 districts of KP

PESHAWAR: Anti-polio campaign kicked off in 21 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Thursday, ARY News reported.

According to the Provincial Health Department, more than four million children below the age of five will be administered anti-polio drops during the campaign.

The campaign was restarted after a four-month break in the wake of the coronavirus situation in the country.

For the purpose over 19,000 teams have been constituted to vaccinate the children and monitor the campaign. The squads include 17859 mobile and 1237 fixed teams to make the campaign a success story.

The polio eradication campaign will begin in Punjab and Sindh form 15th August whereas in Balochistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir from August 17th.

The campaign will be conducted following the successful resumption of polio activities in July 2020 after a four-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To build immunity amongst susceptible children, vaccinators will go door-to-door during this campaign to administer the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to children under the age of five, as well as Vitamin A supplements to children who are between 6-59 months of age.

The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has provided vaccinators with face masks and hand sanitizers for additional protection.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan expressed confidence that parents will continue to realize the importance of vaccinating their children in the drive.