Watch: Polio workers walk in waist-deep snow to vaccinate children
January 14, 2021
- Health care workers brave the snow to reach children and give them polio drops
- Frontline health workers making an effort to eradicate polio in tough conditions
- Video taken during ongoing five-day polio drive in Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the few countries that is yet to defeat the polio virus.
To beat the deadly virus, the country relies on its frontline health workers to ensure that each child is vaccinated.
The frontline health workers have taken up the challenge to vaccinate children in Pakistan whenever a national campaign is launched.
In the ongoing polio vaccination campaign, we saw the frontline health workers showing their commitment to the cause even though their life is also at times at risk.
Read more: Policeman martyred in attack on polio team in KP’s Karak
In a video shared by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative's Twitter account, two health workers were seen walking in waist-deep snow to vaccinate children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
"As extreme cold weather blankets Azad Jammu & Kashmir, these brave women make their way through several feet of snow to deliver vaccines to children during the ongoing end polio campaign," read the tweet.
Pakistan starts first polio vaccine campaign of 2021
Earlier, this week Pakistan launched its first polio vaccination for 2021.
The national polio immunization drive is of five days and aims to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.
A supplementary dose of Vitamin A drops will also be administered to children aged 6 to 59 months.
Around 285,000 polio front line workers will visit parents and caregivers at their doorstep adhering to strict COVID-19 precautionary measures and protocols while vaccinating children, The News reported.
Read more: If changes don't get rolling, 'wheels will come off the Pakistan bus', warns IMB report on polio
They will wear a mask, use hand sanitiser and maintaining a safe distance.
“Our aim is to ensure timely and repeated vaccination of children. This is key to reduce the immunity gap and to protect our children against polio and other diseases," said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan.
