Six-day polio drive to begin in Punjab from October 26

LAHORE: A six-day polio immunization campaign will begin in Punjab province from October 26 under which 19.4 million children would be administered polio drops during the drive, ARY NEWS reported.

Chief Secretary Punjab reviewed the preparations for the immunization drive and said that he would personally monitor the entire campaign.

“We will be adopting a micro plan to ensure 100 percent coverage during the campaign,” the top Punjab government official said.

On September 24, it was reported that the National Anti-Polio Programme has achieved 85 per cent of its set target in three days.

In first three days of the anti-polio drive as many as 30.4 million children have been vaccinated against the crippling disease, out of the set target of 40.16 million.

In Punjab, 1.82 million children under the age of 5 years have been vaccinated by the polio workers. 74,80000 in Sindh, 57,20000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 15,55,489 children have been vaccinated in Balochistan.

Furthermore, 2,68,139 kids were vaccinated in Islamabad, 2,20,586 in Gilgit Baltistan and 6,34,633 were vaccinated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Read More: New polio case reported in Punjab’s Ahmedpur East

The anti-polio drive, which kicked off on September 21 will end tomorrow. It was learnt that the remaining two days of the drive will be catch-up days.

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

Poliovirus is highly infectious. The incubation period is usually 7–10 days but can range from 4–35 days. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine.