More Than 99 % Target Children Vaccinated In May Round Of Anti-polio Drive: EOC KP Peshawar

The May round of anti-polio drive successfully conclude in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 99.25 percent vaccination status reflecting the hard work and commitment of the teams on ground that brave many challenges to vaccinate the target children

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th May, 2018 ) :The May round of anti-polio drive successfully conclude in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 99.25 percent vaccination status reflecting the hard work and commitment of the teams on ground that brave many challenges to vaccinate the target children.

In a press release issued by Emergency Operations Center Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Friday, 4.432 million children were vaccinated so far by the teams out of the total target of 4.466 million children.

It said that 34176 children were still Not Available while total refusals stand at 13044 (0.29 %) taking the total number of missed children to 47220 which is one percent of the total target population.

Coordinator EOC Atif Rehman while appreciating the motivation and commitment of Sehat Muhafiz for polio eradication said that phenomenal achievements have been made in polio eradication due to the efforts and hard work of teams and the support of the community.

He said that last polio case in Peshawar was reported in February 2016 and it is more than two years now that the provincial capital was free of polio case which speaks volumes of the efforts put in by the teams under the guidance and supervision of the government and technical experts.

Rehman held an appeal to the parents to turn deaf ears to rumors against polio vaccination saying that the vaccine was safe and harmless and was the only option to help us reach the finishing line and eradicate the menace of polio for good from the region.

Regarding the baseless propaganda against polio vaccine on social media, Rehman said that polio vaccine was certified by World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority and was completely safe for the children.

It is pertinent to mention here that the May campaign was the last campaign of the low transmission season and was of great importance to stop virus circulation in the province. The campaign was carried out in the selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Bannu, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Hangu, Karak, Kohat, D.I.Khan, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swabi, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Swat, Malakand and Chitral.