Polio vaccine campaign from 26th

LAHORE:Punjab is set to begin the third round of the National Immunisation Days (NIDs) from May 26 to June 1, with the goal of vaccinating over 23 million children under the age of five against polio virus across the province.

Adeel Tasawar, Head of the Polio Programme in Punjab, emphasised the urgency and strategic importance of this campaign, warning of heightened risks of virus transmission in the coming weeks. “This is a crucial campaign that comes approximately just two weeks ahead of Eid, a time of increased travel and population movement, which raises serious concerns about the potential spread of poliovirus,” said Tasawar. “Adding to the urgency is the fact that there will be a long gap before the next campaign. We must go all out now to ensure maximum coverage.” The campaign will run for seven days in mega districts including Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad. In all other districts, it will span five days.

Tasawar issued a strong message to field teams, underlining a zero-tolerance policy toward negligence, poor performance, and data manipulation. “No untrained polio team will be allowed in the field. We are particularly focused on persistently missed children and mobile populations (MMPs).

These gaps must be addressed with urgency and transparency,” he said. “Still-missed children remain a challenge. We must identify them honestly and ensure they are vaccinated. Intra-campaign clusters must be genuine - fake data will not be tolerated.