Rawalpindi polio drive reaches over 594,000 children amid virus concerns

The campaign was carried out across Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantonment, Rawalpindi Rural and Taxila to strengthen children’s immunity

RAWALPINDI: A four-day Special Polio Immunization Activity (SIAD) concluded in Rawalpindi on Thursday, with more than 594,000 children vaccinated during the first three days of the campaign, health authorities said.

The campaign was carried out across Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantonment, Rawalpindi Rural and Taxila to strengthen children’s immunity against polio amid continued circulation of the virus in the region.

According to Dr Ehsan Ghani, CEO Health Rawalpindi, around 184,000 children were vaccinated in Rawalpindi Rural, 107,000 in Rawalpindi City, more than 98,000 in Rawalpindi Cantonment and over 88,000 in Taxila during the first three days. More than 27,000 children found outside their homes and over 38,000 visiting children were also administered polio drops.

The vaccination campaign was supported by 3,147 mobile teams, 169 fixed teams and 143 transit teams. A total of 525 Area In-Charges and 142 Union Council Management Officers supervised and monitored the campaign. Vaccination teams visited households, fixed sites and transit points to ensure that children travelling through or visiting the district were also covered.

Dr Ghani said the campaign was preceded by extensive community engagement activities aimed at increasing public confidence in polio vaccination. Frontline workers held meetings at the neighbourhood level and engaged mosque imams, local elders and other community influencers to explain the importance of repeated vaccination and counter misinformation.

Awareness activities were also conducted at health facilities, including Holy Family Hospital, where doctors and paramedical staff were briefed on vaccine confidence and the importance of supporting polio eradication efforts.

The Punjab Emergency Operations Center coordinated with the district administration, health authorities, community representatives and other stakeholders to strengthen preparations for the campaign. Media and digital awareness campaigns also urged parents to welcome vaccination teams and ensure that all eligible children received the vaccine.

Dr Ghani said detailed campaign data would now be analysed to identify missed children, assess vaccination coverage and improve future immunization strategies.

Although no polio case has been reported in Rawalpindi, the detection of poliovirus in environmental samples from the district remains a serious warning, underscoring the need for continued vigilance and high population immunity.

Dr Ghani thanked parents, caregivers, frontline workers, health authorities and local communities for their cooperation, stressing that every vaccination dose is essential to protecting children from lifelong paralysis.

“Polio eradication remains a top priority. With continued commitment from parents, frontline workers, health authorities and communities, we can eliminate the virus from Rawalpindi and protect every child from this preventable disease,” he said.