The anti-polio vaccination drive in nine districts of Punjab including major cities like Lahore, Multan and Gujranwala has been delayed due to heavy monsoon rains and flooding, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) announced on Saturday.
The vaccination drive which was earlier planned to begin on September 1 will now be delayed in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur. However, the campaign will go ahead as scheduled in Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
In other provinces, the polio vaccination drive will start on September 1 as planned.
READ MORE: Polio Cases Confirmed: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Reports Two New
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed that Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries where the poliovirus still survives. He said the campaign across Punjab will now begin on September 10 while other provinces will move forward from September 1.
The minister further disclosed that poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 127 districts nationwide. He pointed out that 16 out of 26 polio cases this year were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 13 from its southern belt.
