5,000 children’s parents refuse vaccination
Data recorded during recent campaign; highest number of anti-vaxxers seen in city
PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
The parents of around 5,000 children in 13 districts across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa refused polio vaccination during the recent subnational immunisation drive (SNID).
The statistics, available with the Emergency Operation Cell (EOC) in Peshawar, also mentioned details on children who were not available at home during the campaign. The report compiled during the polio drive clearly highlighted roughly 37,000 children were not available for the drops.
At least 3,480,011 children were inoculated against the crippling virus and officials dealing with the campaign claimed to have reached—or even exceeded—the target of 3,442,950.
Anti-vaxxers
Officials said the highest number of refusals was reported from the provincial capital where parents of over 2,000 children did not allow polio workers to administer drops to their kids. The number of children targeted in Peshawar district was 833,479.
The report suggested 600 children each in Charsadda and Lakki Marwat districts were kept out of the reach of polio workers. The vaccination targets there were 281,644 and 175,333 children in Charsadda and Lakki Marwat, respectively.
“Parents of around 560 children refused drops for their kids in Bannu,” stated a senior official, requesting anonymity. He pointed out the target for the area was 186,846.
The official stated there were 391 refusals reported from Nowshera, 325 from Tank, 200 from DI Khan, 150 from Karak, while only six refusals were noted in Hangu. The official claimed a successful campaign was carried out in Swat, Kohat and Mardan districts as no refusals emerged from these three areas.
He said polio teams were still on the search for children who were not available on the day of the campaign. Teams were still trying to convince parents who refused follow-up campaigns, said the official.
The SNID was carried out in 13 high-risk districts. The districts were identified from the southern, northern and central parts of the province. Similar campaigns will follow in the remaining districts.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2016.
The parents of around 5,000 children in 13 districts across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa refused polio vaccination during the recent subnational immunisation drive (SNID).
The statistics, available with the Emergency Operation Cell (EOC) in Peshawar, also mentioned details on children who were not available at home during the campaign. The report compiled during the polio drive clearly highlighted roughly 37,000 children were not available for the drops.
At least 3,480,011 children were inoculated against the crippling virus and officials dealing with the campaign claimed to have reached—or even exceeded—the target of 3,442,950.
Anti-vaxxers
Officials said the highest number of refusals was reported from the provincial capital where parents of over 2,000 children did not allow polio workers to administer drops to their kids. The number of children targeted in Peshawar district was 833,479.
The report suggested 600 children each in Charsadda and Lakki Marwat districts were kept out of the reach of polio workers. The vaccination targets there were 281,644 and 175,333 children in Charsadda and Lakki Marwat, respectively.
“Parents of around 560 children refused drops for their kids in Bannu,” stated a senior official, requesting anonymity. He pointed out the target for the area was 186,846.
The official stated there were 391 refusals reported from Nowshera, 325 from Tank, 200 from DI Khan, 150 from Karak, while only six refusals were noted in Hangu. The official claimed a successful campaign was carried out in Swat, Kohat and Mardan districts as no refusals emerged from these three areas.
He said polio teams were still on the search for children who were not available on the day of the campaign. Teams were still trying to convince parents who refused follow-up campaigns, said the official.
The SNID was carried out in 13 high-risk districts. The districts were identified from the southern, northern and central parts of the province. Similar campaigns will follow in the remaining districts.
As yet five poliovirus cases have been confirmed in 2016 with three from K-P and one each from Balochistan and Sindh. The number of polio cases reported in 2015 was 17 from the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2016.