The instances of parents’ refusal to allow health workers to administer anti-polio drops to their children rose by 85 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after rumours pertaining to the authenticity of the vaccine provoked hysteria across the province, Dr Ejaz, an official of KP’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for polio, said on Friday.
He said that more than 700,000 families across KP had refused to get their children vaccinated, whereas in the last anti-polio drive – held last month – the number of refusal cases was 57,000. He attributed the alarming increase in the number of refusal cases to rumours spread against the vaccine.
In Peshawar alone, the number of refusal cases rose by 79 percent, as about 164,000 out of 800,000 families refused to allow health workers to administer anti-polio drops to their children, he said. He said that due to the prevailing rumours against the vaccine, the anti-polio campaign had to be postponed in 24 union councils of Peshawar.
“This is the highest number of refusal cases reported in an anti-polio campaign,” Dr Ejaz said.
“The propaganda against [anti-polio] vaccines created panic in Peshawar and other districts [of KP], and has badly affected the efforts of the government to eradicate polio,” he said, adding that the EOC would come up with a new strategy before initiating the next anti-polio campaign, scheduled for June. He regretted that rumours had exposed children to the risk of becoming victims of the crippling poliovirus.
Dr Ejaz said the EOC would take local and religious leaders, as well as members of the civil society, on board in order to allay the fear and misconceptions among parents regarding the vaccine.
It may be mentioned here that panic spread across Peshawar earlier this week after 75 students at a school in Badhber ? complaining of headaches, nausea and abdominal pain allegedly after being administered the anti-polio vaccine ? were admitted to Hayatabad Medical Complex. However, the doctors discharged them soon afterwards, saying they were in stable condition.
Panicked parents continued taking their children to hospitals for check-ups till late at night. Doctors at Lady Reading Hospital said the effects were psychological. In Charsadda alone, at least 800 children were hospitalised.
Family members and area residents resorted to agitation in protest against the incident. They broke the doors and windows of a hospital during their protest, set a basic health unit in the area on fire and held polio workers hostage for some time. Addressing the hysteria across the province, KP Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan held a press conference to debunk the rumours about the vaccine. “We have an inquiry report and the only thing it points towards is panic. The school from where it all started, there should be an investigation against them. These two, three schools had also refused the anti-polio campaign earlier. They did not want drops administered to their students,” he claimed.
