RAWALPINDI: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid on Friday claimed that not a single case of polio has been reported in Punjab so far this year.

“If the situation persists for two more continuous years, Punjab province will be declared polio free,” she said while addressing a media briefing at Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

She said 99pc of children up to the age of five years have been vaccinated against polio during the anti-polio campaign in Rawalpindi district since Dec 13.

“During the campaign, which continued till Friday (today), 714,000 children were vaccinated against the target of 718,000 children,” she said.

The provincial minister said Covid-19 booster dose for 50 and above will be administered free of cost after six months of vaccination.

She said like the rest of the province, the situation in Rawalpindi is also under control and at present there are only 10 coronavirus patients in the hospitals in the district and the rate of positive cases is less than one percent.

She said the manner in which corona vaccination campaign was carried out in Pakistan was unprecedented.

Dr Yasmeen Rashid said from Jan 1, 30 million families across Punjab will start getting Insaf Health Card.

This process will be completed by March 31 and this card will be given to the head of household and up to one million rupees treatmentwill be provided.

She said distribution of Insaf Health Cards in Rawalpindi Division would start from Jan 22.

She said that 8.5 million families have already received health cards out of which 5.2 million families had received health cards in 2019 alone.

Dr Yasmeen Rashid said that the health card will be made on the basis of Nadra’s records andcards will be given to head of family.

She said that all the children registered for thalassemia in Punjab would also get the facility of treatment with health card.

She said that 301 private hospitals in Punjab have been included in the panel of Insaf Health Card and the government would give a premium of Rs399 billion for health cards to State Life of Pakistan for next three years.

She said 109 liver transplants and 250 kidney transplants have been performed in Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) Lahore.

Earlier, she also administered polio vaccinations to children.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2021