ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (NNN-APP) – The year’s first nationwide polio vaccination drive began last week, apart from Karachi, where the campaign began a week earlier, aiming to vaccinate approximately 39.6 million children.
The campaign involved nearly 265,000 polio workers, going door-to-door, to inoculate children under the age of five.
A few days ago, the National Institute of Health confirmed five more polio cases from Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, bringing the tally for the current year so far to 17. Last year, 144 cases were reported nationwide, 12 in 2018, and eight cases in 2017.
“Building on the successful national campaign in Dec last year, the nation is all set to undertake aggressive measures to push the virus back during 2020, setting the stage to root out polio from the country once and for all,” claimed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza.– NNN-APP
