LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) claims to have vaccinated 2.2 million children in Lahore during the last polio drive in September and said it has finalised plans for the upcoming campaign scheduled for Nov 2-8.

Chairing a meeting here on Tuesday, Punjab EOC Coordinator Khalid Parvaiz and Lahore Health CEO Dr Asif Arbab Khan reviewed the polio drive preparations.

An EOC spokesperson said that the meeting acknowledged Lahore’s progress in maintaining its polio-free status since April 2026, while underscoring the need to sustain momentum and remain vigilant against the risk of virus reintroduction.

He said the officials emphasised that the absence of detected poliovirus did not mean the threat had disappeared, particularly given population movement and the continued circulation of the virus in parts of the country.

Reviewing the results of the September campaign, the meeting noted that more than 2.2 million children were vaccinated in Lahore in six days, which constituted 98pc coverage. The results highlighted the scale of the campaign while reinforcing the need to review coverage, identify missed children and address any remaining gaps.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Parvaiz stressed the importance of maintaining high-quality vaccination campaigns, strengthening micro planning and ensuring that every eligible child had been reached. He called on the district health team to address operational gaps at the union council level, improve data quality and transparency, and ensure that monitoring findings translated into timely corrective action.

Dr Khan emphasised the importance of effective coordination among district health managers, field teams and campaign supervisors to ensure thorough preparation for the November campaign. He stressed that sustained performance and accountability at every level was essential to protect the gains achieved by Lahore.

The meeting also reviewed campaign preparedness, with a focus on identifying missed children, improving team performance and strengthening supervision. Participants emphasised the need to maintain community engagement and build parental confidence in polio vaccination so that every child under five received the required vaccine doses during each campaign.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026