Second phase: ‘Polio vaccines are safe’
FATA’s top vaccinator says successive campaigns helped stop circulation of virus
PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
The top vaccinator in the tribal areas on Sunday assured that vaccines being used in vaccination campaigns were safe and that it was important to immunise children, with successive campaigns ending stopping the circulation of the virus.
His comments came as vaccinators in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) prepared for the second phase of a vaccination campaign to administer oral polio vaccine to some 999,050 children under five-years-of-age. The first phase featured administration of the injectable polio vaccine.
A total of 4,553 teams, comprising 4,168 mobile, 281 fixed and 104 transit teams will be deployed in the tribal areas, the official said, adding that successive campaigns have helped stop the circulation of the virus from within the Fata region.
Fata Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator Mahmood Aslam Khan said that he was confident that the frontline workers, with the support of the political administration and law enforcement agencies, will be able to achieve the target of immunising every child.
“In last month’s campaign, 99.66 per cent of the target children were vaccinated and it is a pleasure to know that the immunity level of these children against polio has been strengthened further,” Mahmood was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the EOC secretariat.
Polio drive to start on May 7
It stated that multiple doses of polio vaccine were required for a child to be fully protected, with some requiring more than 10 doses. He added that each additional dose further strengthens a child’s immunity against polio.
Mahmood stated that the vaccine being used in the region to stop polio was effective and had been used in almost every country in the world.
He added that they will be focusing on the mobile population frequently crossing the borders, stressing that every child must be immunised.
He assured that oral polio vaccine was the safest vaccine available while the drug regulatory authorities have approved the vaccine which is stringently prepared as per international specifications.
Mahmood pointed out that Fata has been without a polio case for the past 21 months. The last polio case in FATA was reported on July 27, 2016, from the South Waziristan Agency.
Polio eradication of
top priority
Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra stated that the eradication of polio from the country was the top priority of the incumbent government.
Addressing a function of Rotary Club International in Islamabad on Sunday, he appreciated the efforts of the non-governmental organisation for eradicating polio from the country. The governor said that the federal government is actively engaged in improving the socio-economic condition of the people of K-P and Fata.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2018.
The top vaccinator in the tribal areas on Sunday assured that vaccines being used in vaccination campaigns were safe and that it was important to immunise children, with successive campaigns ending stopping the circulation of the virus.
His comments came as vaccinators in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) prepared for the second phase of a vaccination campaign to administer oral polio vaccine to some 999,050 children under five-years-of-age. The first phase featured administration of the injectable polio vaccine.
A total of 4,553 teams, comprising 4,168 mobile, 281 fixed and 104 transit teams will be deployed in the tribal areas, the official said, adding that successive campaigns have helped stop the circulation of the virus from within the Fata region.
Fata Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator Mahmood Aslam Khan said that he was confident that the frontline workers, with the support of the political administration and law enforcement agencies, will be able to achieve the target of immunising every child.
“In last month’s campaign, 99.66 per cent of the target children were vaccinated and it is a pleasure to know that the immunity level of these children against polio has been strengthened further,” Mahmood was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the EOC secretariat.
Polio drive to start on May 7
It stated that multiple doses of polio vaccine were required for a child to be fully protected, with some requiring more than 10 doses. He added that each additional dose further strengthens a child’s immunity against polio.
Mahmood stated that the vaccine being used in the region to stop polio was effective and had been used in almost every country in the world.
He added that they will be focusing on the mobile population frequently crossing the borders, stressing that every child must be immunised.
He assured that oral polio vaccine was the safest vaccine available while the drug regulatory authorities have approved the vaccine which is stringently prepared as per international specifications.
Mahmood pointed out that Fata has been without a polio case for the past 21 months. The last polio case in FATA was reported on July 27, 2016, from the South Waziristan Agency.
Polio eradication of
top priority
Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra stated that the eradication of polio from the country was the top priority of the incumbent government.
Addressing a function of Rotary Club International in Islamabad on Sunday, he appreciated the efforts of the non-governmental organisation for eradicating polio from the country. The governor said that the federal government is actively engaged in improving the socio-economic condition of the people of K-P and Fata.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2018.