Rawalpindi : The district health department is launching a special immunization campaign from today (Monday) to administer the anti-polio vaccine to children below five years of age in as many as 86 union councils of Rawalpindi district through outreach teams while immunization activity would be carried out in all 212 union councils of the district at the department’s vaccination centres.
From 18 months to two years of children who have missed any of the vaccines being provided under the expanded programme on immunization would be vaccinated in the district while the focus of the extended outreach activity (campaign) is the administration of the anti-polio vaccine to children below five years of age, said Executive District Health Officer Dr. Ihsan Ghani while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.
He said the campaign would be carried out from June 6 to June 12 that has been planned in selective union councils of the district being considered as the high-risk areas on the subject of the prevalence of poliovirus particularly after reporting of polio cases from the country recently.
He added that children from 18 months to five years of age who have missed DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) vaccine due to any reason in the district would be provided DPT vaccine all across the district.
He said the health department’s teams would carry out a door-to-door campaign in 86 union councils falling in Rawal Town area, Cantonment Board area, Taxila, Gujar Khan, and peri-urban areas in Potohar while fixed points would operate for vaccination of children in other union councils in the district.
Dr. Ghani said the health department has made all preparations to get maximum results from the upcoming campaign. All relevant staff has already been imparted training for the outreach activity, he said.
According to the district health department, the federal health minister has consented to inaugurate the campaign at the district health office in Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
