SHANGLA/LAKKI MARWAT: A special anti-polio drive will commence in Shangla district on Monday (today) to vaccinate 173,648 children under the age of five years.

District health officer Dr Mohammad Riaz Khan told reporters on Sunday that the special drive was being launched in view of emergence of fresh polio cases in various parts of the province. He said the drive would continue for five days.

He said the special campaign was meant to curb a type of virus, cases of which had surfaced recently, adding Monoviliant Oral Polio vaccines type 2, (V2) would be administered to the children.

He said administering a particular vaccine was meant to curb a specific virus which had affected children in Shangla and Torghar.

Dr Riaz Khan said 808 mobile, 37 fixed, 32 transit and six roaming teams had been formed for the drive.

Meanwhile, the Lakki Marwat deputy commissioner on Sunday convinced a family, refusing vaccination of children for last 20 years, on immunisation against polio, during a special drive launched in the district to ensure 100 per cent coverage of the refusal cases.

Deputy commissioner Jehangir Azam Wazir visited Zangikhel, Mela Mandrakhel and other rural localities, met parents and area elders and vaccinated children of reluctant parents against the crippling disease.

The officials of health department and partner organisations had told the deputy commissioner that a family in Zangikhel had been refusing vaccination of the children for last two decades. After which, the DC visited the family and took two hours convincing the female head of the family on immunisation of children against polio.

The woman argued that vaccination had adversely affected the health of a girl child a few years ago, therefore, they stopped vaccination of children.

The deputy commissioner told the woman that anti-polio vaccine was completely safe for children’s health. He also assured that the problems faced by the family would be resolved on priority basis.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2019