Third nationwide anti-polio drive begins today

A nationwide anti-polio drive of varied duration begins across Pakistan today.

“The Government is committed to make Pakistan Polio free. We are determined to close the immunity gap in children which had unfortunately widened because of the disruption of essential services due to COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring timely and repeated vaccination of children is critical for us to reduce the immunity gap and protect them against polio. I, therefore, urge all parents and caregivers to ensure polio vaccination to their children during the campaign as well as in routine,” said Dr Faisal Sultan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.

According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program, over 39 million children under the age of 5 years will be administered anti-polio vaccine drops across the country.

It said 285,000 polio teams have been constituted for this drive.

The parents have been appealed to contact Health Protection Helpline 1166 or message to Polio WhatsApp 03467776546 for any query in this regard.