A seven-day special mass vaccination campaign against measles will start in the city from today during which 3 million children from six months to ten years of age will be inoculated. The campaign will continue till May 5.
Moreover, students of all government and private primary schools of Lahore district will also be inoculated and the educational institutions refusing to get their students vaccinated will be closed.
A spokesman of the Punjab Health Department said that children will also be provided facility of vaccination against measles at all government hospitals, basic health centre and rural health centers from 8am to 5pm. He said anti-measles vaccination campaign will continue for one week and the vaccination staff’s holidays on Sunday and May 1 have been cancelled.
The spokesman said that mobile vaccination teams will visit all union councils and loudspeakers of the mosques will be used for informing the people about their visit. Moreover, health workers will pay door-to-door visit at Mohalla level to apprise the people of the arrival of the teams. The spokesman further said a vigorous awareness and publicity campaign is also being launched for the success of the anti-measles drive. Besides providing information through print and electronic media, banners and flexes will also be displayed on the roads for this purpose. He said that special instructions have been issued to display banners for the information of people at the buildings and sites where vaccination teams will stay.
The spokesman further said that the Health Department has constituted 660 mobile teams, 165 teams to visit schools and 265 fixed teams for vaccination against measles. He said in order to facilitate the people, the administrations of government hospitals have been directed to set up at least four desks for vaccination of children besides making suitable seating arrangements for the parents and supply of cool drinking water. The spokesman appealed to the people to fully benefit from the facility of vaccination of children against measles being provided by the Health Department for rooting out this disease.
Punjab Health District Officer Dr Muhammad Saeed Akhtar Ghuman said the government has decided to utilize all the 150 union councils of the city and 15 wards of Lahore Cantt as health centres to vaccinate the children.