New date announced for Polio vaccination campaign

LAHORE: Punjab is ready to initiate the polio vaccination campaign on October 13. The anti-polio campaign under National Immunisation Days (NIDs) will remain operational until October 19 in Lahore. The campaign in other districts will continue for four days.

More than 200,000 polio workers and supervisors will carry out the door-to-door campaign, with the aim of inoculating over 23.3 million children under the age of five years in Punjab.

During a review meeting on Friday, EOC Coordinator Adeel Tasawur ordered the district administrations, especially in Jhang, Rajanpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan, to enhance operations in flood-affected and security-risk districts. He ordered officials to make special and enhanced microplans so that the vaccination teams reach all settlements, including nomadic and hard-to-reach ones.

“Field team consistency is important for quality performance. Refrain from wasteful team redeployment and make sure new administrative authorities, particularly Deputy Commissioners, are oriented well ahead of time,” he counselled.

Strict compliance with data integrity was also urged by Mr Tasawur, cautioning that any falsification of data would be strictly unacceptable. He asked district health authorities to lead field monitoring actively so that real-time surveillance and problem-solving take place during the campaign.

He asked districts to target grey areas and communities with refusals or misconceptions about vaccines. He favored a community-based approach, involving local elders, religious scholars, teachers, and other respected community leaders, to generate confidence in the polio vaccination campaign.

Polio (poliomyelitis) is an extremely contagious viral illness that most affects children under five. Paralysis can result within hours of infection, and it is irreversible. There is no cure, but vaccination is the best form of prevention.

Pakistan is one of just two nations on the planet where wild poliovirus still circulates. Continued finding of the virus in the environment is a poignant reminder that joint and concerted efforts are needed to safeguard all children and ultimately bring an end to polio transmission in Pakistan.