KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho on Monday inaugurated the nine-day campaign to administer injectable polio vaccine (IPV) to children aged up to five years at the district health office in Liaquatabad.

After opening the campaign, she said a separate campaign to target the children up to five years was planned as such vaccination was more beneficial and effective alongside the oral polio vaccine.

“Using the injectable and polio vaccines in tandem would create stronger immunity among the children against the crippling disease,” said the minister.

She said the city was not yet clear where environmental samples were concerned; thus potential danger of poliovirus was still there.

Besides, she added, poliovirus was still in the environment of Sukkur and Larkana districts.

The minister appealed to the parents to bring their children to the fixed centres for administering IPV.

The campaign is targeting 1.5 million children residing in 106 UCs in 10 towns who would be administered the IPV and OPV.

Some 2,000 centres have been established across the province where children would be given IPV.

Officials in the health ministry said the administrations of all schools had been asked to cooperate with polio volunteers.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2019