Over 741,579 children to be immunized against Polio in Rawalpindi’s high-risk areas

RAWALPINDI (APP): Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the District Health Authority Dr. Ejaz Ahmad has said that a week-long Anti-Polio drive will commence in the four high-risk towns of the district on Monday (September 4).

The CEO told APP that 2,770 teams including 2,430 mobile teams, 568 area in charges 261 fixed points and 156 Union Council medical officers would vaccinate polio drops to over 741,579 children under five years of age in four towns of the district including Rawalpindi city, Rawalpindi Cantonment, Rawalpindi rural, and tehsil Taxila which had been declared high-risk areas.

He added that drops would also be administered at 109 transit points while teams have been deputed at toll plazas so that no child could miss immunization. The CEO said the purpose for launching the special drive was the presence of continuous detection of the polio virus from environmental samples collected from the area of Sarae Kala, Taxila and Safdarabad, Rawalpindi. The positive sample in Rawalpindi indicates that the virus was circulating in the region, though no positive case had been reported so far, he said and added that “If a single case is reported in a region, it remains a threat to children residing in 200 houses in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Rawalpindi Liaquat Ali Chatta directed the official concerned to improve the anti-polio micro plan devised during the previous campaign.

He said the crippling disease was a national issue, and it was the responsibility of all to play an influential role in making the country polio-free.

The Commissioner warned the officials that strict action would be taken against those responsible for fake entries. Liaquat said hiding facts was not a solution to any problem, but it complicated the issue.

Laiquat further directed to cover the missing and refusal cases by convincing the parents with the help of local community leaders and achieving the target set for the drive.

He urged the citizens, particularly the parents, to come forward and play their role in eliminating the crippling disease from society.