Over 45.8 mln children to receive polio vaccination in Pakistan: health ministry

ISLAMABAD - A week-long countrywide polio vaccination campaign is going to start in Pakistan from Monday, in which more than 45.8 million children under five years of age will be vaccinated, the Pakistani Health Ministry said.

The second campaign of the year will be held across the country from Feb 26 to March 3, and in 33 districts of the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province from March 2 to 6, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

During the campaign, children will also be given vitamin A supplements to boost their immunity, it added.

This is the second consecutive nationwide campaign of the year after poliovirus was detected in sewage samples of 19 districts in January, and in 126 sewage samples in 2023, said the statement.

The first campaign of 2024 was held from Jan 8 to 14, during which over 43 million children were vaccinated, according to the ministry.