City Reporter
Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali on Monday inaugurated the 5-day national anti-polio drive by administering Polio drops to children at Basic Health Unit Kotha Kalan.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner said Polio is a National issue and it is the responsibility of all to play an effective role to make the country Polio free.
He informed although no polio case has been detected in the district, the objective of repeated polio campaigns was to eradicate chances of polio virus spread.
He stressed officials of the Health Department to keep strict vigilance of polio teams, coverage of refusal cases and ensure the achievement of targets.
Sharing details of the arrangement for the campaign, Chief Executive Officer, District Health Authority, Dr Faiza Kanwal said that 2964 polio teams, 663 area in charge, 240 medical officers were participating in the campaign, while SOPs regarding Covid-19 was also strictly being observed.
Dr Faiza said the drive will also be utilized for creating awareness about Covid-19 and anti-dengue preventive measures.
“307 fixed centres have been set up while children coming from outside would be vaccinated at 129 transit points of the district”, she added.
The CEO informed that over 240,000 children would be immunized on the first day of the campaign while the drive will continue till September 24, she added.
Meanwhile, the Police have deputed as many as 1,000 police personnel for the safety of 850 polio vaccinators during the five-day immunization campaign.
According to the police spokesman, foolproof security arrangements have been made for the safety of anti-polio teams while the vehicles of police stations, including motorbikes and dolphin squad were also being used for effective patrolling around the teams, he added.
