Three-day polio drive begins
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06/05/2008
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Dawn (Pakistan)
The Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Sindh chapter, has finalised all arrangements for a three-day polio eradication campaign being launched on Tuesday in the province. Children, from newborns to five-year-olds, will be administered the oral anti-polio vaccine at their doorsteps in the sub-national immunisation days. EPI officials have requested parents to extend full cooperation to make the campaign a success. Talking to APP, an EPI official said that the significance of the drive has increased in areas with poor sanitation facilities as a polio-affected child passes the virus through his excreta and that faulty sewage lines, which are often reported to mingle with water supplying lines, enhance the vulnerability of children in the vicinity. "Repeated administration of vaccines does boost the immunity of the vulnerable against the virus,' the official said, adding that EPI vaccinators would be available at all inter-city bus stations besides at the railways stations and other relevant exit and entry points. During the campaign, around 6.52 million children will be administered polio drops along with an additional dose of Vitamin A at over 1,900 fixed points and 1,300 transit points.