Around 39 mln children get anti-polio drops.

ISLAMABAD -- Around 39 million children up to five year of age have been vaccinated anti-polio drops during five-day national immunization drive to protect them from this crippling disease.

According to an official of National Emergency Operations Centre, over 260,000 frontline polio workers visited every house to ensure all children under the age of five received the polio vaccine.

He said that all efforts were made so that all children can be immunized across the country and stakeholders have been fully engaged to ensure that the campaign is successful.

'It is possible for Pakistan to eradicate polio with the support of the community. I urge all parents and caregivers to ensure their children are vaccinated.'

Coordinator National Emergency Operations Centre, Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar said that communities play an essential role to ensure that the national campaign reaches every single child under the age of five.

He urged parents and caregivers to cooperate with the vaccinators who administer the polio vaccine by opening their doors to them.

If any child is missed from the vaccine between December 16 to 20, parents can request the health authorities to receive it. He said that the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative has initiated Sehat Tahhafuz Helpline to assist the reporting of missed children during the national immunization campaign.

He asked the parents and caregivers to contact Sehat Tahhafuz Helpline at 1166 and register their concerns regarding the missed children. He said that polio was a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five.

It invades the nervous system and can cause...