Anti-polio drive to begin in Punjab from January 11

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has announced that anti-polio vaccination drive will begin from January 11 across the province.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said that more than 20 million children will be administered the doses of the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) during the forthcoming immunisation drive.

She detailed that 48,000 teams have been constituted besides distributing face masks and sanitisers among them to prevent themselves from contracting novel coronavirus.

The health minister added that the immunisation drive will be continued from January 11 to January 15 and special security arrangements will be made for the teams.

Earlier on January 6, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) had approved Rs US$60 million for Pakistan aimed at supporting the polio immunisation campaign in the country.

The IDB had signed an agreement for polio vaccination in the country.

A handout issued by the economic affairs ministry had detailed that the US$60 billion would include a $39 billion loan and $21 billion grant from the IDB for the vaccination.

The agreements for the provision of a loan and a grant had been signed by the secretary of economic affairs and a representative of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) during a ceremony at the economic affairs division.

The amount would be used for purchasing the polio vaccine and performing other responsibilities during the polio immunisation drive, carried out by 260,000 polio workers.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where the poliovirus has popped up again and again.