Polio vaccination campaign continues across selected districts: NEOC

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign entered its sixth day on Saturday, with vaccination activities continuing in selected districts across the country.

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) reported that more than 27.7 million children had been administered polio drops during the first five days of the drive.

Launched on September 21 and scheduled to continue until September 27, the campaign is focused on children below the age of five in designated districts. More than 273,000 trained polio workers are taking part in the campaign and visiting households to vaccinate children.

NEOC data showed that around 7.898 million children had been vaccinated in the selected districts of Punjab, while approximately 9.88 million children received polio drops across 30 designated districts of Sindh.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), more than 7.122 million children have so far been vaccinated in 37 selected districts. Meanwhile, over 2.249 million children received the vaccine in 32 districts of Balochistan included in the campaign.

In Islamabad, the campaign has covered more than 443,000 children, while around 140,000 children have been vaccinated in two selected districts of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The NEOC appealed to parents and caregivers to assist vaccination teams and make sure that all children under five receive the required two drops of the polio vaccine during the campaign.

The health body reiterated that although polio has no cure, vaccination can effectively protect children against the disease. It also called on families to cooperate with vaccination teams and allow them to administer the vaccine when they visit homes.