The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign for children below five years at holy sites, southern region and Western Province registered a huge success.

“The 2nd National Limited Campaign for Polio Vaccination launched in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Jazan, Najran and Asir has achieved 98.4 percent of its goal,” a Ministry of Health official confirmed.

The official said that the campaign activities included visiting homes and primary health care centers in these provinces.

“Out of 790,602 targeted children, doses were given to 778,326,” he said.

The official said that the number of vaccinated children in Jeddah was 225,026, Makkah 138,938, Madinah 130,647, Jazan 104,555, Najran 53,594 and Asir 125,573.

Assistant Deputy Health Minister for Preventive Medicine Abdullah Al-Asiri thanked all citizens and residents for their cooperation with members of the vaccination teams and their support for the MoH’s efforts to make the campaign a success and protect the future generations from the crippling disease.

Al-Asiri underscored the ministry’s keenness to implement campaigns annually in vulnerable areas.

The Kingdom is considered a polio-free country as it has not recorded a single case of polio in the last two decades.