Bill on mandatory vaccination scrutinised

Islamabad
The Islamabad Mandatory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers Bill 2015 was scrutinised by the Senate Standing Committee on Health here on Saturday, with a select gathering of parliamentarians, civil society representatives and media personnel offering their feedback on the bill.
Various clauses of the bill were discussed during a public hearing organised by chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health, Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi. The bill was tabled in April by Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, who shared the context of the bill while a representative from the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services Aslam Waseem presented the legal aspects of the bill.
Dr. Tahir Masood, president of the Pakistan Pediatrics Association gave a presentation on the significance of immunisation and need for legislation on immunisation. Civil society representative Mehnaz Akabr Aziz extended the civil society’s support for the initiative.
Senator Farhatullah Babar while commenting on the bill, suggested the inclusion of a recommendation to recognise polio health workers by announcing posthumous civil awards for those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
All comments were recorded by the committee for review. Other participants included Senator Osman Saifullah, Senator Dr. Ashok Kumar, Shehryar Afridi-MNA, Asmatullah Niazi from PTV, Haroon Rasheed from BBC News, Zar Ali Khan Afridi from Fata, Shahid Kamal and Dr. Shahzad Munir from Polyclinic.