3,300 parents refuse OPV for their children

Karachi

As many as 3,300 parents refused to let their children have the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for the crippling disease of polio on the second day of the vaccination drive in the three remaining districts of Korangi, South and Central on Monday.

The second phase of the eight-day polio vaccination drive commended on Sunday with a target to immunise around a million children in South, Central and Korangi districts.

However, health officials revealed that on the second day of the drive, around 3,300 parents turned away vaccinators who had knocked their doors for administering the OPV to their children.

Another 15,000 children could not be reached during the vaccination drive but officials claimed that they managed to vaccinate more than 3,000 till Monday.

Talking to The News, Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, the chief of Karachi Task Force for Polio Eradication, said he had reviewed the drive on Monday and directed the authorities to enhance cooperation between different institutions to make the campaign successful.

In a meeting attended by health officials and deputy commissioners as well as other stakeholders on Monday, it was decided to enhance coordination and implement the micro plans prepared for reaching out the maximum number of children in the province to eradicate polio from the city.

Commissioner Karachi further issued directions for the establishment of District Polio Control Rooms in all six districts of Karachi to improve coordination, coverage and effectiveness of the polio vaccination drives.

On the other hand, officials of the Sindh health department said they were investigating reports that teenagers had been engaged for administering the polio vaccine drops.