RAWALPINDI: A four-day Special Polio Immunisation Activity (SIAD) concluded on Thursday across four tehsils of Rawalpindi district, with more than 594,000 children vaccinated during the first three days of the campaign.
The targeted activity was conducted in Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantonment, rural areas and Taxila to strengthen children’s protection against poliovirus amid continued virus circulation in the region.
A poliovirus environmental sample collected from Safdarabad tested positive after three consecutive months of negative results. According to officials, environmental samples collected from Sarai Kala and Dhok Dalal during the same surveillance period tested negative. However, the positive sample from Safdarabad prompted health officials to intensify monitoring and vaccination efforts in the area.
During the first three days, 184,000 children were vaccinated in Rawalpindi Rural, 107,000 in Rawalpindi City, more than 98,000 in Rawalpindi Cantonment and over 88,000 in Taxila. In addition, more than 27,000 children encountered outside their homes and over 38,000 visiting children were vaccinated.
The campaign was supported by 3,147 mobile teams, 169 fixed vaccination teams and 143 transit teams, with 525 area in-charges and 142 Union Council Management Officers contributing to planning, supervision and monitoring.
Teams vaccinated children through door-to-door visits, fixed vaccination sites and transit points to ensure that children travelling within or visiting the district were also protected.
The special activity was preceded by a series of communication and community engagement initiatives aimed at building confidence and ensuring strong participation.
Health workers and local teams conducted community meetings, mohalla-level engagements and interactions with community influencers, including mosque imams and local elders, to explain the importance of repeated vaccination and address concerns and misinformation.
Awareness and engagement activities were also held at health facilities, including Holy Family Hospital, where doctors and paramedical staff were engaged on vaccine confidence and the importance of supporting polio vaccination.
The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) also strengthened coordination with district administration, health authorities, community representatives and other stakeholders ahead of the activity.
Communication efforts through media and digital platforms encouraged parents to welcome vaccination teams and ensure that every eligible child received the vaccine.
The EOC said detailed data from the campaign would now be reviewed to identify missed children, assess coverage and further strengthen vaccination strategies.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2026
