ISLAMABAD: More than seven months after halting its anti-polio vaccination drive due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Pakistan’s health ministry resumed the nationwide campaign on Monday amid a steady decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. 

“This will be the first nationwide campaign in Pakistan since February (which was halted) due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” a statement released by the Ministry of Health’s Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP) said on Monday.

Four new coronavirus deaths were reported on Monday while the nationwide tally stood at 306,304 cases.

The five-day anti-polio drive, which ends on September 25, will see more than 270,000 officials administer the vaccine to 40 million children below the age of five and follows smaller campaigns by the PPEP in July and August in high-risk districts of the country.

However, the scope of the nationwide campaign launched on Monday is “much larger,” the statement added.

Dr. Rana Safdar, Coordinator of the PPEP’s National Emergency Operations Center, urged all parents to vaccinate their children “against this paralytic and sometimes life-threatening disease’.

“This is an opportune moment for parents to make sure that their children are vaccinated against polio. We have made sure that all safety measures for COVID-19 are in place to protect children, their parents and caregivers as well as our vaccinators. The safety and health of our people will always come first,” he said in a statement.

According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio continues to be a threat, with Pakistan reporting 70 new polio cases since January this year.

“With the news of Africa being certified as polio-free, we are also ramping up our efforts to bring us closer to a polio-free Pakistan. We are consistently reviewing our campaign performance and responding to the needs of the communities we interact with to improve our outreach and capacity,” the PPEP statement said.

Acknowledging the efforts made in eliminating the disease from the country, Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health said that work was underway to integrate and synergize services “to accrue benefits from their respective assets and ultimately strengthen the routine immunization of children.”