Daily Times

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed his disappointment over refusal of several parents to vaccinate their children against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. A meeting of Provincial Task Force for Polio Eradication held at Chief Minister House here on Wednesday, chaired by Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The meeting was attended by Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho, Local Bodies Minister Saeed Ghani, Chief Secretary Sindh, representatives of UNICEF, WHO and other concerned agencies.

Sindh chief minister directed health authorities to register police case and initiate legal proceedings against the parents who refuse to get their children vaccinated. The chief minister regretted emergence of two polio cases in Sindh in the ongoing year adding that a change of strategy is needed for eradication of the crippling disease. He also urged for a better training for anti-polio health workers.

Shah directed for more steps to get rid of the polio virus from the province. Earlier, the meeting was informed in a briefing that only in Karachi 251806 parents refused to vaccinate their children during the polio vaccination drive. The polio virus found in Karachi’s Gadap, Gulshan Iqbal, Baldia, Landhi, Bin Qasim, SITE, Liaquatabad and Saddar areas in a recent survey, the health officials briefed the meeting. Moreover, the presence of virus also confirmed in Sukkur, Jacobabad and other cities and towns of Sindh, the meeting informed.

Sindh health department in a recent statement urged parents to get all their children vaccinated against polio and other diseases by having two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) whenever polio vaccinators knock their doors.