ISLAMABAD – Coordinator Emergency Operations Center Sindh, Irshad Ali Sodhar Tuesday urged the media to help remove misconceptions about polio vaccine and dispel negative propaganda to support the government in giving final push to make the country polio-free as parents refusal is major hurdle in anti-polio efforts.
Talking to PTV news channel, he said polio drops were meant to stop children from getting disabled for life.
The majority of nations have eradicated this illness, but regrettably, misinformation about the anti-polio campaign still persisted here.
These rising refusal rates in various cities including Karachi underscore the urgent need for increased public awareness and education about the critical role of polio vaccination in eradicating the disease from the country, he stressed.
He said that vaccination cannot be done forcibly rather it has to be done in agreement with parents, adding, we want to convince parents that the vaccination is in the best interest of their children.
Despite significant achievements of the programme, the cunning poliovirus is still surviving and finds a way for its survival due to parents refusals, he added.
“Parents are requested to avoid fake propaganda against polio vaccine and vaccinate their children to protect them from the poliovirus,” he appealed.
The government of Pakistan is striving to hit the virus hard through this special campaigns, he said, adding, there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease.
Repeated immunizations will only protect millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become free of polio, he added.
A varied duration anti-polio vaccination campaign is underway in full swing across the country where polio workers are visiting door to door to administer anti-polio drops to the children below the age of five.
According to details, transit camps have also been set up at bus stops, hospitals and railway stations to administer polio drops to maximum children.
During the drive, more than 16.2 million children would be administered anti-polio drops.
Provincial Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah talking to a private news channel said that polio was crippling diseases and it was the responsibility of all segments of the society to support the government’s efforts to defeat the ailment.
He said great responsibilities lied on the shoulders of parents to vaccinate their children in case polio teams did not come to their homes.
Citizens should cooperate with polio workers who will visit their homes to administer vaccines, he added.
The vaccine is completely safe, and it is essential to immunize our children to keep them protected against polio. For the complete eradication of polio, it is of utmost importance that all children up to the age of five are administered with the polio drops, he said.