PESHAWAR: Pakistani health authorities on Monday kicked off a targeted anti-polio vaccination drive in specific districts of the militancy-hit northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, an official confirmed, saying the campaign aims to inoculate 1.29 million children.
Pakistan last week said it had inoculated over 19 million children nationwide during a polio vaccination campaign. The vaccination drive is part of Islamabad’s efforts to stem the spread of the disease, which is an incurable, highly infectious virus that can cause lifelong paralysis and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination and routine immunization.
The latest polio vaccination campaign in KP will take place from Sept. 15-18, Amjad Ali, a provincial spokesman for the polio eradication program, confirmed in a statement. He said the seven districts that will be targeted in the vaccination campaign are Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lower South Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and Upper Dir.
“Polio drops will also be administered in selected areas of Bajaur and Swat districts,” Ali said in a statement.
“For this phase of the campaign, 8,928 trained polio worker teams have been formed.”
