LAHORE: The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) of Punjab will launch the second round of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in five districts where children ages five years to 12 years will receive their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

EPI Punjab Health Services Director Dr Ahtishamul Haq told reporters on Friday that the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI) with JSI-USAID was a lead partner along with UNICEF and World Health Organization as implementing partners with the EPI Punjab for this campaign.

In the second round, the follow-up Covid-19 dose will be administered to those children who received their first dose in the previous round of the campaign in September 2022.

“After the success of the first round of the campaign, it is hoped that the current campaign will immunize our children against Covid-19, giving us greater protection against the pandemic,” the EPI director said.

Covid-19 spread and infection patterns may be different in children from those in adults, but it does not mean that they are immune to the virus and disease, Dr Haq said.

The campaign will run between Oct 31 and Nov 5 in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, and Okara, where the first campaign was launched.

The EPI has formed 6,586 teams for this campaign, while 773 fixed stations have been installed for maximum coverage.

In September, the EPI, on the directions of the NCOC and the FDI, conducted the first round of the pediatric Covid-19 vaccination campaign in which 97% of children (4.6 million) were administered the first dose.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2022