RAWALPINDI: As part of the National Immunisation Day (NID), the district health department will begin its three-day anti-polio campaign from December 10 during which over 848,000 children will be vaccinated.

To overcome the shortage of staff, the health department sought the help of a deputy commissioner. After receiving a formal request, the deputy commissioner directed the government departments to provide staff to the health department within a few days. The education department had been requested to provide teachers for the anti-polio campaign.

Local police will also provide personnel for the security of the anti-polio teams, especially in highly sensitive union councils of the district. In the district 24 union councils were declared highly sensitive.

A total of 2,333 mobile teams will administer anti-polio drops to the children in the district.

District Health Authority officials told Dawn that the arrangements had been finalided and the campaign would start on December 10. He said the provincial government had already directed the police to provide security to vaccinators.

They said for the anti-polio campaign, the health department also declared teaching hospitals as the main centre for polio vaccination and the people could visit the hospital to get vaccination round the clock.

They said the anti-polio drive was necessary these days as for the last three months, samples taken from city drains had tested positive for poliovirus.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2018