PESHAWAR: The provincial Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) here on Monday has denied the news of children dying due to polio vaccinations, saying that polio vaccine is the safest vaccine that does not cause deaths.
This was stated by EOC coordinator Atif Rehman in a press conference held here. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) Director Dr Akram Shah, World Health Organisation (WHO) Team Lead Dr Abdi, UNICEF Team Lead Dr Joahar and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Technical Focal Person Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah were also present on the occasion.
“Polio vaccine only protects children from lifelong disability,” Atif Rehman clarified.
Rehman told the media that the health secretary has constituted an investigation team comprising of a District Health Officer (DHO), Representative of the DC office and two paediatricians to investigate the matter in detail and report back within 48 hours.
He said that the report will be shared with the media as soon as the committee completes the investigation.
The EOC coordinator said that we are all saddened by the demise of these three children and pass our heartfelt condolences to their families.
He reiterated that polio vaccine is the safest vaccine ever developed and over 10 billion doses of Oral Poliovirus Vaccines (OPV), as well as, 11 million Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) doses have been administered to children in Pakistan. All across the country, not a single child reacted to the vaccine.
“It is unfortunate that the deaths are linked to polio vaccination without any investigation. The vaccine is considered as the safest by leading medical practitioners in the world,” he stated.
Rehman said that as per the initial investigations, a 12-month old child named Rehan, a resident of Gulabad/Bostanabad died last night due to some medical complications for which details are not yet confirmed, however, our team of professional doctors is investigating the matter thoroughly.
“Around 2781 children were vaccinated with Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV) in the same UC since the start of the campaign on April 23, 2018. A total number of 186459 children in Peshawar received the vaccination during the campaign without any side effects,” he said, adding that every person should be assured that the vaccine is extremely safe and does not cause any harm whatsoever.
EPI Director Dr Akram Shah, while responding to media queries on vaccine safety, reassured everybody that the vaccine used in Pakistan was the same which is being used in other Muslim countries and is completely safe.
He appealed to the media to help remove people’s misconceptions about polio vaccination and raise collective public awareness so that the country gets rid of the menace for good.
