Youth support sought to change polio misconceptions

Official says changing the mindset key to maintaining declining trend

QUETTA: The coordinator of Balochistan’s Emergency Operation Centre Polio, Rashid Razzaq, has urged the youth of Balochistan to play their role in removing misconceptions regarding anti-polio drops.

Addressing a ceremony held in the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Razzaq said that efforts have resulted in a steep decline in the number of polio cases in the province.

“The number of cases have come down to five or six from 20,000,” he told students and faculty members while reminding them of the dangers posed by the virus.

He said that the virus not only affects a single child but the entire family. “The virus still exists in our environment, putting our future generations to the peril of lifetime disabilities,” he said.

He also urged the youth, particularly university students, to not give in to conspiracies and propaganda against the vaccination drive. “The youth must research and find the truth and form their opinion after research,” the polio official said.

He said that the negative mindset towards anti-polio drops was the biggest hurdle in making Pakistan polio-free. “There are people who have apprehensions regarding the vaccination and injections, which is a major challenge,” the coordinator said, adding that the youth should step forward to address this misconception.

Razzaq added that the vaccine was also approved by 160 Islamic scholars from across the world, which would address the misconception of those people who think their religion forbids vaccination.