LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has stressed the need for additional efforts to sustain the gains made against poliovirus and ensure that no gaps remain ahead of the upcoming special national immunisation days (SNID) campaign starting Sept 21.
Chairing a meeting with all SNID campaign districts, Punjab EOC Coordinator Khalid Parvaiz directed districts to immediately address gaps identified during the pre-campaign prepa-rations, particularly those related to the quality and completeness of training.
The meeting reviewed campaign readiness and highlighted issues including gaps in training quality and incomplete training materials in some districts. District teams were directed to rectify these issues immediately and ensure 100pc compliance in reporting on the campaign dashboard.
Mr Parvaiz directed the chief executive officers (CEOs) of districts lying on the inter-provincial boundaries to recheck their microplans, particularly in light ofcross-border coordination meetings already held with neighbouring districts and provinces.
He stressed that every possible effort must be made to identify and vaccinate children who may otherwise be missed during the campaign.
He noted that the presence of poliovirus in areas beyond Punjab’s borders, including environmental detections and cases in neighbouring provinces, continued to pose a risk of reintroduction.
‘Any persistent gap in our vaccination and surveillance efforts can create an opportunity for the virus to cross intoPunjab. Our objective is to keep Punjab at zero, and this requires additional and sustained efforts,’ he said.
Mr Parvaiz said, ‘Transit points will be particularly important during this campaign.
Every child travelling with mobile and migrant populations must have access to vaccination.
Synchronised campaigns across areas are also essential to prevent the virus from gaining an opportunity to spread’.
The campaign will begin on September 21, with vaccination teams reaching eligible children to provide oral polio vaccine.