EOC signals full review as polio drive wrapped up

LAHORE:Head of the polio programme in Punjab and Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Khizer Afzaal has called upon district health administrations, holding a special polio case response campaign, to finalise data submission at earliest so that a quality assurance process of the campaign could be started.

The EOC coordinator issued these directions as Punjab on Sunday wrapped up a special polio eradication campaign which was launched in its seven districts in the wake of polio cases in Balochistan and positive environmental samples in the province.

In February, environmental samples taken from Okara Urban, a sewage site in Okara and Suraj Miani, a sewage site in Multan, had tested positive. Separately, two cases were reported from Dera Bugti and Chaman in Balochistan. Therefore, in order to respond to the risk of virus importation, the campaign was organised in Multan, DG Khan, RY Khan, Rajanpur, Faisalabad, Okara and Kasur.

While in Okara and Faisalabad, the campaign was held in limited areas only, rest of the districts implemented the campaign in all of the union councils. Due to seven-day campaign in Faisalabad, data compilation on the overall coverage of children and other details was still being done on Sunday till the filing of the report.

As per the latest statistics received, more than five million children have been given oral polio vaccine in the seven districts. This includes 1.1 million vaccinations in Rahim Yar Khan, 0.8 million in DG Khan, 0.5 million in Rajanpur, 0.7 million in Faisalabad, 0.2 million in Kasur 0.9 million in Multan and 0.6 million in Okara.

Separately, 0.26 million guest children were also vaccinated in the case response. It is worth mentioning that campaign was held in selected areas only of Faisalabad and Kasur. The EOC coordinator reiterated that a comprehensive review of the campaign, which was organised to boost children immunity in the targeted districts, will be held soon.

Issuing directions to the provincial field monitors and district health authorities, the EOC head highlighted the need to recheck fingers of the children in high-risk and targeted areas which were located remotely and were more vulnerable to the virus, so that quality of the campaign could be assessed.

He also urged them to wind up monitoring of the designated areas and furnish findings to the polio programme at their earliest so that a comprehensive review is initiated at the earliest. He noted that in case performance of any official involved in polio campaign or of workers was found not satisfactory, a disciplinary action would be taken against them.

Afzaal reiterated that protection of every child against polio virus and eradication of the crippling disease was top priority of the government.

He appealed to the parents to cooperate with polio teams whenever they visit their households. ‘Although Punjab was free of a polio case since October 2020, but virus could spread in Punjab due to movement of population from polio affected areas’, the EOC coordinator warned.