Polio vaccination law: Replies sought from govt

Petitioner submitted the government launched anti-polio campaigns every year but had yet to legislate on the issue.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday sought replies from the federal and Punjab governments on May 24 on a writ petition seeking legislation on polio immunisation and the storage of vaccines. Petitioner Rana Ijaz submitted through his counsel that the government launched anti-polio campaigns every year but had yet to legislate on the issue. He said that in the absence of laws, the polio vaccination campaigns had failed to achieve their target of eradicating the disease from Pakistan. Moreover, the petitioner said, the vaccine was sometimes ineffective because it wasn’t stored properly. He asked the court to direct the government to enact legislation and follow international practices for the storage of the vaccine.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.