PESHAWAR, March 13: The provincial health department is planning to give cash awards to the “best vaccinators” with a view to improving polio immunisation coverage in poorly covered areas.

Officials said a recent polio vaccine coverage evaluation survey by the Expanded Programme on Immunisation’s cell of the federal government had shown poor coverage in the NWFP.

According to the preliminary findings of the survey, vaccination coverage in the province is 62 per cent.

However, the health department claims that the coverage is above 80 per cent.

The report says that vaccination ranges from 8 to 94 per cent in different areas of the NWFP. It says only two districts of the NWFP had 80 per cent coverage, which is the desired target.