FAISALABAD - As many as 1.382 million children up to the age of 5 years would be administered polio vaccine in district Faisalabad during the next national anti-polio campaign, which would commence from Sept 21, 2020. 

This was stated by divisional Commissioner Ishrat Ali while inaugurating the anti-polio campaign at Allied Hospital on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali, MPA Shakil Shahid, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) District Health Authority Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Sipra, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Bilal Ahmad, Additional Medical Superintendent Allied Hospital Dr Akram Cheema and others were also present on the occasion. The DHO said that all necessary arrangements had been finalised to start the campaign. He said that total 3,323 polio teams would remain active for administering polio vaccine across the district.

DC orders achieving targets of immunisation campaign

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali has directed the Health Department to achieve targets of immunisation campaign and submit its monthly report regularly.

He was presiding over a meeting on Saturday to review performance in Expanded Programme for Immunisation Campaign. District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Bilal Ahmed briefed him about implementation details of the programme. 

The DC made it clear that no negligence would be tolerated in the immunisation drive. Therefore, the campaign should be carried out with full responsibility.  

He reviewed the overall performance of the Health Department and said that although the department had heavy responsibilities due to coronavirus and dengue, yet it was also an imperative task to protect children from other diseases including polio in which even the slightest omission might cause huge damage. Therefore, no irresponsibility would be tolerated in this campaign at all. 

He said that scope of awareness programme should be further expanded to educate the parents about importance of immunisations of their children so that they could cooperate with teams of Health Department for vaccination of their children up to the age of 15 months.

He said that completion of immunisation course for children was also a national duty so all available resources should be utilised to achieve 100% targets in this programme.

The DHO said that children from birth to 15 months would be vaccinated as immunisation could prevent deadly diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pneumonia, whooping cough, jaundice, meningitis, diarrhea, tetanus and measles.

He said that durable monitoring was carried out for performance of vaccinators during the programme.