Pakistan launches third anti-polio drive to immunize over 40 million children

A police officer helps a health worker administer a polio vaccine to a child in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, July 30, 2021. (Photo courtesy: AP)

• Health chief reports ‘significant gains’ in initiative with zero cases in seven months
• Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world with circulating wild poliovirus

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched a week-long national anti-polio immunization drive on Monday, its third this year, to vaccinate over 40 million children under five years of age after making “significant gains” against the crippling disease in the past seven months, officials said.
The South Asian nation of over 220 million people had resumed its anti-polio drive in June, months after halting it due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which had overwhelmed the country’s health system, and amid threats to the campaign by militants who often target polio teams, alleging that the initiative is a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, besides Afghanistan, with circulating wild poliovirus, which has been eradicated elsewhere, attesting to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
“The program has made significant gains with not a single case being reported for seven months, giving us a unique opportunity to achieve polio eradication,” Dr. Faisal Sultan, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health, said in a statement on Monday.
In the latest chapter, nearly 2,90,000 polio workers will visit people’s homes while adhering to strict COVID-19 health protocols, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP) said.
Along with being inoculated with the polio vaccine, the children will also receive an extra dose of Vitamin A.
Dr. Shahzad Baig, a PPEP coordinator, said that the “campaign is vital for Pakistan’s ability to achieve polio eradication” after only one case was reported this year compared to 75 last year.
The PPEP statement added that the significant reduction in cases was also due to “a decrease in positive environmental samples from 55 percent to 12 percent,” highlighting that poliovirus is “less active” in the country.
“This is one of the lowest levels of detected wild poliovirus in the history of the country. It is vital that this opportunity to finally eradicate polio from Pakistan is seized,” the statement said.
Polio is a highly infectious disease mainly affecting children under five years of age. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from the disease.