‘Over 95pc’ target met in first phase of polio drive in Karachi

Polio Eradication Initiative officials on Tuesday announced that the first phase of the combined fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV) campaign in Karachi has achieved over 95 per cent of its target in 40 high-risk and super-high-risk union councils (UCs).

“Our teams successfully vaccinated over 95 per cent children in the initial 40 UCs during the first phase of the fIPV campaign, which was launched on August 15,” said Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Sindh Coordinator Irshad Ali Sodhar.

He said that the second phase to vaccine the remaining half a million children in 45 UCs would start on Wednesday (today). The EOC’s data shows that by the end of the campaign’s fifth day, 509,869 of the 537,638 eligible children had been administered fIPV via jet injectors.

Moreover, 540,093 of the 569,835 children under the age of five had been administered OPV. “The highest fIPV acceptance rate was recorded in the UCs of Orangi Town, where 105 per cent of the target was achieved with the help of jet injectors,” said Sodhar.

“One hundred per cent children were administered OPV during the drive. In Karachi’s District West, 100 per cent of the eligible children were administered fIPV, while 90 per cent were administered OPV.”

Despite the initial resistance to fIPV on the first day, the campaign witnessed a steady improvement. Motivated team leaders and volunteers worked diligently to ensure that every child in the targeted areas was vaccinated.

“Thanks to strict monitoring and the teams’ hard work, vaccine acceptance significantly increased by the end of the fifth day of the 10-day fIPV drive. Data indicates that 95 per cent children in the initial 40 UCs of Karachi were vaccinated by the end of the first phase.”

In District South, 99 per cent children were administered fIPV and 113 per cent OPV; in District Central, 96 per cent were administered fIPV and 104 per cent OPV; and in District Malir, 96 per cent and 97 per cent were administered fIPV and OPV respectively.

In District East, 93 per cent and 96 per cent children were administered fIPV and OPV respectively; and in District Keamari, 84 per cent and 89 per cent were administered fIPV and OPV respectively.