January 13, 2009	Tuesday	Muharram 15, 1430

KARACHI, Jan 12: A three-day anti-polio campaign — aimed at vaccinating over two million children up to five years of age — started on Monday.

The Expanded Programme on Immunisation-Sindh initiated the campaign that would see 20,000 teams, comprising 21,000 lady health workers, and 2,200 vaccinators visiting children, door to door.

“These teams would administer oral polio vaccines to over 2.2 million children,” EPI Sindh officials said.

The vaccinators’ teams, they said, would visit each and every part of the province and were supported by paramedics belonging to different public and private healthcare institutions.

Volunteers associated with different NGOs and welfare organisations have also been engaged in the campaign.

EPI-Sindh officials said that teams would make door-to-door visits and ensure vaccination of all children of up to five years of age.

They said that teams were adequately trained and well-versed in vaccine administration and in maintaining its quality.

They have been advised to see that the child to be vaccinated by them should not be suffering from diarrhoea.

In such a case, the team would revisit the child later and would provide him/her with a fresh dosage of anti-polio vaccine.

Community leaders, including religious leaders and imams of mosques, have also been asked to assist and help the teams, a senior EPI official said.—APP