Three-day anti-polio drive launched

Punjab Emergency Operations Centre has announced a special polio vaccination campaign across 25 union councils in Rawalpindi starting from Monday in response to the detection of polio virus in environmental samples.

Dr Ehsan Ghani, who assumed charge as CEO of the Rawalpindi District Health Authority, confirmed that the three-day campaign will target over 124,000 children under the age of five for polio immunisation.

The affected union councils, located wholly or partially in Rawalpindi City and Taxila tehsils, are areas with frequent movement of populations from polio-affected regions, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Dr Ghani emphasised that the campaign aims to ensure every child receives the polio vaccine to bolster their immunity against the disease.

To strengthen polio surveillance, Punjab has established 31 permanent environmental monitoring sites across 19 districts.