LAHORE: The Punjab government has introduced a vaccine for Rotavirus in the routine immunisation schedule of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation during a grand ceremony here on Friday. The Rotavirus vaccine is the 10th vaccine to be introduced in the immunisation programme. Administered in two oral doses for children of six weeks as well as 10 weeks of age, it will help reduce the diarrhoea related mortality in children below five. According to an estimate, Punjab reports around 1.2 million cases of diarrhoea annually with thousands of deaths due to diarrhoea, including 40-45 percent related to Rotavirus. These remarks were made by Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir at the launching ceremony, which was attended by Minister for Specialised Health and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Secretary Ali Jan Khan, UNICEF Country Representative Angela Kearney, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) chief executive officer Dr Seth Berkley, Belgium Ambassador to Pakistan Frederic Verheyden, EPI Manager Dr Saqlain Gillani, professors from leading teaching hospitals and representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Gates Foundation. In the first phase, the vaccine will be introduced in six districts, including Lahore, Multan, Khushab, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin and Muzaffargarh, reaching more than 1 million children. The vaccine will be later introduced in the rest of the province, which accounts for 20% of Pakistan birth cohort. Kh Imran Nazir said that the introduction of Rotavirus vaccine was a historical moment for Punjab. “The vaccine will reduce related-related mortality in the province by a significant margin,” he said. Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique said, “The year 2016 has been a year of successes for EPI in Punjab as no polio case was reported in the province. “With innovation and enhanced supervision and monitoring, Punjab has been able to increase its routine immunisation coverage from 64 % in 2014 to over 86 per cent within one year,” he said. “The GAVI commends the Punjab government for its strong leadership and financial commitment to introduce rotavirus vaccine,” said Dr Seth Berkley. “By protecting the children of Punjab from one of the largest causes of childhood mortality, this vaccine has the potential to save thousands of lives every year. And this impact will increase significantly once the vaccine is rolled out nationwide with the GAVI support,” he added. In her remarks, the UNICEF country representative in Pakistan said, “I warmly congratulate Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the government on this significant achievement, which means that the lives of thousands of children will be saved every year. Other speakers in their speeches lauded the efforts of the chief minister Punjab and appreciated him for taking personal interest for health sector development. EPI Program Manager Dr Syed Saqlain Ahmed Gilani said that immunisation was one of the most powerful and cost-effective of all health interventions. “The Expanded Programme on Immunization is providing free of cost vaccination against nine preventable diseases. Inclusion of Rotavirus vaccine will boost immunity of children against related and significantly reduce the burden of disease amongst children under five.”