ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has announced the launch of a countrywide anti-polio drive from October 13 to 19, aiming to immunise 45m children under the age of five against the crippling disease.
With the emergence of two new poliovirus cases in Sindh’s Badin and Thatta districts on September 29, the nationwide tally for this year rose to 29 and the total number of cases in the province to nine, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“During the week-long activity, more than 45 million children under the age of five will be administered oral polio vaccine (OPV) to protect them from the crippling disease,” the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported, citing the NEOC.
It said an additional dose of Vitamin A will also be given to children during the campaign to help strengthen their immune systems.
Trained polio workers to perform duty
More than 400,000 trained polio workers will run the campaign across the nation to ensure every eligible child receives the vaccine.
As per provincial data shared by the NEOC, in Punjab, over 23m children under five will be vaccinated, while in Sindh, more than 10.6m children will be targeted.
In Balochistan, over 2.6m children will receive the drops, while in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, around 7.2m children will be covered.
The NEOC said that in Islamabad, over 460,000 children will be vaccinated, while in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, more than 760,000 children will be administered the vaccine. In Gilgit-Baltistan, over 280,000 children will be reached during the drive.
The NEOC has appealed to all parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under the age of five receives the polio drops during the campaign from October 13 to 19.
It also urged parents to complete the full course of routine immunization for their children to protect them from polio and other preventable diseases.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic despite global efforts to eradicate the virus.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five.
