Polio immunization campaign of the year 2022 continued nationwide in Pakistan

March 1: The first nationwide polio immunization campaign of the year 2022 continued to immunize more than 43 million children.

According to official sources, in order to immunize a maximum number of children during the drive, a workforce of 339,521 polio frontline staff were providing polio vaccines at every doorstep. 

“Government of Pakistan remains committed to eradicating polio and focusing on well-coordinated efforts at both the federal and provincial level to realize the dream of making Pakistan a polio-free country,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination Dr. Faisal Sultan said.

He stressed the important role of parents and caregivers towards the success of repeated vaccination campaigns. “It’s every Pakistani’s national duty to ensure that their own children, as well as children around them, are administered the polio vaccine in each campaign.” 

• Pakistan marked a major milestone with no wild polio case reported in the last 12 months on January 27.
• But There is still an imminent risk of polio virus to any unvaccinated child across the border as children are moving with families. 
• Pakistan and Afghanistan were the only two countries left with the poliovirus. 
• It is pertinent to mention here that polio vaccine is safe, and it helps to build immunity among children against the poliovirus. The repeated polio vaccination campaigns are imperative for building immunity among children and preventing possible death or lifelong paralysis