LAHORE: The first National Immunization Days (NIDs) of 2024 will commence on Monday (today) all over Punjab, confirmed the head of the polio programme and Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator Mr Khizer Afzaal here on Sunday.

In Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, the campaign will continue for seven days, while in other districts it will last five days.

The coordinator says that over 200,000 polio workers and supervisors will participate in the drive to immunize 22.50 million children under the age of five against polio.

The officials taking part in the drive include 16,605 area in-charges, 3,991 union council medical officers, over 84,884 mobile polio team members, 4,884 fixed team members and over 2,664 transit team members.

The EOC coordinator directed the districts to make polio campaign a success, saying the first national campaign of the year will lay a strong foundation for a polio-free year and eventually eradication of the virus.

“It is imperative that we start the year with a strong campaign and continue the momentum against the virus. Amid polio virus circulation in other provinces, Punjab has not reported any polio case since October 2020, which is an achievement of the programme”, he says.

The positivity rate of polio environmental samples has also gone down by 1 per cent, Afzaal says, adding that because of successful implementation of polio campaigns, samples from all environmental sites have turned negative.

However, the movement of population from core reservoirs to Punjab is one the major causes of virus importation in the province, cautions the coordinator.

The Punjab polio programme head praised polio workers, saying that they have been reaching out to the children in some of the hardest to reach areas with to cover every child with the polio vaccine and ensure a polio-free world for future generations.

He also warns the workers against showing complacency in executing the programme as the country can’t afford to let polio virus return to the population-wise largest province.

Mr Afzaal says the Punjab government, through health department, is ensuring the safety and security of “our front line heroes’.

“Government and health department have pledged to make all out efforts to provide essential support to the workers and facilitate them during unforeseen challenges”, he says.

The coordinator reiterates that multiple doses of polio drops offer the best protection against the virus, highlighting the need to vaccinate every single child to achieve population immunity and prevent virus circulation.

“Parents must welcome polio teams whenever they come and knock at their doorsteps. Local communities must be reassured that immunisation is a safe and effective means of safeguarding their children against this virus. 2024 is the year when Pakistan aims to interrupt transmission of polio virus in the country and the polio programme is working steadily towards that goal”, the EOC head says.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2024