SWABI: Over 250,000 children below five years of age will be administered oral polio vaccine during the anti-polio campaign starting from Monday, sources in the local health department told Dawn.They said that during the previous campaign a total of 243,814 children were covered against the target of 253,581 children.

A health official said arrangements for the campaign had been finalised during a meeting between officials of the health department and the local administration three days back.

The official said that owing to security reasons the anti-polio campaign couldn’t be carried out in all the four tehsils of the district simultaneously, and that any one tehsil would be chosen for commending the activity. He said that every tehsil would have three days of regular campaign followed by a day long activity to cover the missed children.

The official said that refusal cases were reported from different areas, including Zaobai, Malki Abad, Gandaf, proper Swabi, Manki, Tordher and Saleem Khan.

He said that there was no law to bind the parents to get their children vaccinated against the deadly disease and urged the government to legislate laws to ensure that parents refusing their children’s vaccination were penalised.