Polio vaccination drive to cover over 4.2m kids

LAHORE:

Punjab is gearing up to initiate an Outbreak Response campaign in four districts starting from Monday after the presence of polio virus in environmental samples was confirmed by the national laboratory in Lahore and Rawalpindi in October.

The campaign, overseen Coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre and head of the polio program in Khizer Afzaal will encompass the districts of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, and Rajanpur.

In Lahore and Rawalpindi, the campaign will extend over seven days, while in Rajanpur and Sheikhupura, it will span five days.

The decision to include Rajanpur in the campaign is attributed to its proximity to Balochistan and Sindh, both of which have reported a polio case and positive environmental samples in October, resulting in significant population movement.

Likewise, Sheikhupura is incorporated due to its substantial population interchange with Lahore.

The extensive inoculation drive against polio will deploy 32,000 polio workers who will visit households. This workforce includes 14,000 workers in Lahore, 7,000 in Rawalpindi, 7,000 in Sheikhupura, and over 4,000 workers in Rajanpur.

A total of 4.2 million children will receive polio drops during this campaign, encompassing 2.85 million in Lahore, 1 million in Rawalpindi, 700,000 in Sheikhupura and 500,000 in Rajanpur.

Afzaal, the head of the Punjab polio program, emphasized the importance of vaccinating children.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2023.