QUETTA: An eight-day Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV) campaign will be kicked off in two polio high-risk districts of Balochistan on Monday.

Provincial coordinator of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Syed Faisal Ahmed said that the campaign would begin in Quetta and Pishin on Sept 3 and during the drive, an estimated 207,454 children would be vaccinated against the crippling disease.

“During the IPV campaign children of the age from 4 to 23 months would be injected with polio vaccine,” Mr Ahmed said, adding that 1 to 23 months old children were most vulnerable to polio virus. He said more than 85 per cent polio cases were reported in children of this age group.

The EOC provincial coordinator said the Balochistan government was launching the campaign in Quetta and Pishin in collaboration with its partners.

Mr Ahmed said that the campaign was aimed at strengthening the immunity of children against polio virus.

He appealed to parents to get their children vaccinated at vaccination centres in their areas and protect them from the crippling disease.

Mr Ahmed said the IPV would boost the immunity of children and IPV plus OPV would ensure that children were safe from polio.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2018