LAHORE – More than 13.6 million children have been vaccinated during the polio eradication campaign in 15 districts of Punjab.
The campaign which started last Monday was labelled as a key step towards blocking local poliovirus circulation. More than 1,10,000 polio workers participated in the campaign.
Districts include Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Attock, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sheikhupura, Okara and Gujranwala.
As many as 2.191 million children have been administered the oral polio vaccine in Lahore, one million in Multan and 0.966 million in Rawalpindi. As many as 0.9 million guests were also administered the polio vaccine.
“All environmental samples which have tested positive in Punjab are linked to poliovirus clusters active across the border in Afghanistan or other endemic and high-risk districts of Pakistan. This proves that Punjab is at risk of poliovirus importation. Therefore, Punjab is taking concrete steps to prevent the local circulation of the virus by implementing immediate outbreak responses”, said Khizer Afzaal, the head of the polio eradication programme and Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator in Punjab.
He appreciated polio workers for making the campaign a success. He said that the good-performing workers would be encouraged with certificates and prizes.
