Polio drive to immunise 18m kids

More than 45,000 teams are taking part in the campaign.

LAHORE: Around 18.6 million children under the age of five will be administered drops under the three-day polio campaign which kicked off on Monday. The drive is part of the National Immunisation Day.

Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir directed district officials to make sure all campaign targets are achieved. The district administrations set up camps outside railway stations, lorry stands and hospitals to administer drops to children.



The minister said that the department has formed more than 45,000 teams, including mobile, fixed teams and teams, to take part in the exercise across the province. The campaign will be held in all 36 districts of Punjab and after the three-day campaign,  a follow up drive will also be launched to vaccinate children who were missed.

Nazir has asked all parents to get their children vaccinated at all costs. “Punjab is focusing on Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore because positive environmental samples were discovered recently,” he said. Punjab’s Emergency Operation Coordinator Dr Munir Ahmed said recent environmental samples have been a cause of concern, indicating the presence of the virus in the environment.

“We are trying to reach out to mobile and migrant populations coming from polio affected areas,” he said, adding that in case teams do not reach their areas, parents may contact the helpline at 0800 99000.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2017.