RAWALPINDI: Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator Syeda Ramallah Ali on Friday said parents need to be extra cautious and make sure that their children are vaccinated against poliovirus.

She said this during a visit to Rawalpindi Saddar and the railway station where fixed teams have been deployed to vaccinate children on the move.

The head of the polio programme went door to door with polio teams, acknowledged their work and spoke with parents.

More than 740,000 children have been vaccinated in Rawalpindi in the last five days.

“The campaign will continue for seven days. Parents need to cooperate with the polio teams and vaccinate every child,” she said.

As many as 39,000 polio workers are participating in the campaign. She said the government was striving towards eradicating polio, adding: “To achieve eradication, 100 per cent of children need to be vaccinated in every campaign.”

The ongoing campaign, Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNID), is being held in seven districts of Punjab - Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Mianwali and Layyah. In Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, the campaign will continue for seven days till July 3 with two days dedicated towards reaching children including those in remote areas.

The campaign in DG Khan, Layyah, Bahawalpur and Mianwali will be held in selected union councils for five days.

This will lead to more than five million children under the age of five receiving the polio vaccine.

“Punjab has been free of polio since October 2020 while environmental samples have tested negative for the wild poliovirus since May 2021. Nevertheless, this success will remain fragile unless and until polio is eradicated from both Pakistan and Afghanistan,” said Ms Ali.

“In light of the fact that Pakistan has reported new polio cases, Punjab is fully cognisant of its potential impact on the province and remains committed to eradicating polio,” she said, adding in order to realise 100 per cent coverage, local communities must understand that polio vaccinations are safe and that parents can trust the programme.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2022