Immunisation drive: Court seeks detailed report on polio vaccine

LAHORE:

Justice Ayesha A Malik of Lahore High Court on Thursday sought a detailed report from the federal and the provincial government on quality of the polio vaccine being administered to children.

Justice Malik issued the order on a petition moved by Noshab A Khan, who said the government was using substandard vaccines in the immunisation drive. He said the poor quality of the vaccine was impeding eradication of polio in the country.

He said according to a Health Department report, 75 per cent of the children who took the polio drops were still vulnerable to polio virus.

The petitioner said those supplying substandard vaccines to the government should be taken to task. He said action should be taken against those who were administering polio vaccines without checking them for quality. Justice Malik had sought a report from the provincial and the federal governments on the matter in a previous hearing. On Thursday, she said the reports submitted in court were inadequate. The judge adjourned hearing till October 30, directing the federal and the provincial governments to submit detailed reports.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2015.