PESHAWAR: The health department has called upon doctors to advocate immunisation at community level to protect people against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Medics should utilize their influence to convince the people on getting their kids immunised against polio and other diseases,” Dr Shahid Younas additional director-general health services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told a seminar and speech competition held to mark World Polio Day at the Khyber Medical College on Tuesday.

Department was putting in all-out efforts to provide better healthcare and essential immunization services including polio to the people at their doorsteps, he said.

It is crucial at this stage that we amplify anti-polio work which is among our highest priorities and achieve the target of polio-free Pakistan, he said.

Dr Shahid said that people gave weightage to opinions given by doctors and health departments wants their help to create demand for polio vaccination by doing away with prevalent misconceptions about safety and efficacy of vaccine.

Dean KMC Prof. Mahmud Aurangzeb said the college, faculty members and students will extend all out support to stamping out polio and protecting children from life-long paralysis and potential deaths.

Polio eradication was a national duty, he said. Same type of vaccines have been used to eradicate poliomyelitis from all Muslim countries, except Pakistan and Afghanistan and safeguard people against disabilities, he said.

He said it was approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan and World Health Organisation after all safety checks.

Prof Mahmud said that all parents must immunised their children against polio without any hesitancy.

EOC deputy coordinator Zeeshan Khan said students were the torchbearers of the future and had an important role to play for shaping the people’s mindset, an edge that could be used for removing public misconceptions about vaccine safety and efficacy and the need for repeated vaccination for eradication of polio virus from the last endemic region.

Deputy coordinator Emergency Operations Center (EOC)’s Zeeshan Khan, said a long distance has been covered towards polio eradication and we were nearing to stamping out the virus from Pakistan. Frontline deserved glorious tributes because achievements would not have been possible without their tireless contributions in battle against crippling virus, he said.

Last mile towards eradication was the hardest and most challenging one and therefore, there was no room for complacency, he said.

Dr Andrew Etsano of the Unicef, Dr Gedi Muhamed of the WHO, Pakistan Pediatrics Association’s focal person for immunisation Prof Sabir Khan, EOC’s technical focal person Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah and Public Health Association president Dr Saima Abid also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, in a speech competition students highlighted the significance of polio vaccination, routine immunization, surveillance, circulation of virus, molecular aspects, genetic sequencing and eradication and winners received cash prizes with certificates.

The day was marked every year to praise teams busy with field activities to eradicate polio. Pakistan has recorded 20 cases this year, all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Abdur Rauf Rohaila of the Rotary International said the day was marked, also pay tribute to Jonas Edward Salk, an American who developed polio vaccines which was used worldwide to end polio virus.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2022