ISLAMABAD – Despite a steady rise in coronavirus cases, Pakistan on Monday launched a five-day vaccination campaign against polio amid tight security, hoping to eradicate the crippling children’s disease this year.
The drive is the first anti-polio campaign in 2021. The previous campaign took place last August — during a brief decline in fatalities and infections from the coronavirus — and included former Taliban strongholds bordering Afghanistan.
This time, polio workers will try to vaccinate 40 million children across Pakistan while at the same time following social distancing measures and other precautions due to the coronavirus, said Zulfiqar Babakhel, a spokesman for the polio program.