KARACHI: Around 5.5 million children of under-five years of age across Sindh will be vaccinated against poliovirus during a campaign beginning on Monday.

The campaign will continue for a week in all six districts of Karachi, home to around 2.4 million children up to the age of five years. However, it will end on June 20 in the remaining districts of Sindh.

Coordinator for emergency operation (EOC) for polio eradication Umar Farooq Bullo has urged parents and caretakers to cooperate with the vaccinators reaching their doorsteps as the exercise was extremely important. The recently collected samples of poliovirus from the local environment demanded foolproof safety of vulnerable children against the crippling disease, he said in a statement.

Referring to the fact that two of the three cases in Sindh were from Karachi, he said constant mobility of the people to and from the port city had made it necessary to extend the duration of the campaign there.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2019