Five-day anti-polio drive begins today

LAHORE: The five-day national polio immunisation drive is set to begin in Punjab from Monday (today), Punjab Polio programme incharge Ms Sundas Irshad said in a statement on Sunday.

Over 44,000 anti-polio teams have been constituted to vaccinate more than 20 million children in the drive”, she said. The incharge Punjab Polio programme reaffirmed, “The government will make sure that polio virus circulation is interrupted during current year.”

She cautioned that polio cases and virus circulation in all major cities of Punjab indicated children are at risk from the crippling virus. Ms Sundas assured parents that polio vaccine was safe and approved by the government’s drug regulatory authorities. She emphasised the need for all children to be immunised during every round of immunisation campaign days.

Polio campaigns had remained suspended in the province since March due to corona pandemic. Over 30 million children missed the critical oral polio vaccine which is required to save children from disability. “Resumption of polio campaigns will play a major role in stopping transmission of the polio virus”, the incharge of the Punjab polio programme said.