A five-day nationwide polio eradication campaign will commence on Monday during which over 39 million children below five years of age will be administered anti-polio vaccine across the country.
This is the first nationwide campaign in the country after its four-month suspension due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The scope of this campaign is much larger and seeks to vaccinate all children under the age of five through door-to-door visits by the vaccinators.
According to an official of Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI), around 285,000 polio frontline workers will visit house-to-house, observing strict SOPs for COVID-19, to ensure protection of Pakistani children from the crippling polio virus.
Pakistan has reported 81 polio cases this year, including 23 in Balochistan, 22 in Sindh, 22 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 14 in Punjab. The workers have been directed to follow the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the campaign.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr. Faisal Sultan has appealed to all parents to administer polio drops to their children while expressing determination to eliminate this disease from Pakistan.
