Pakistan’s Polio Vaccinations Reduced Cases 98%

The UAE-Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE-PAP), reported on October 23, 2018, that it had successfully administered 346,803,020 doses of polio vaccines to more than 57 million Pakistani children, by the end of September 2018. 

So far in 2018, only 4 polio cases were reported in Pakistan, which reflects a 98 percent reduction rate in polio cases since the start of the campaign in 2014. 

This vaccination campaign covered high-risk areas in Pakistan, which include 25 districts in the Khyber region of Pakhtunkhwa, 33 districts in the Baluchistan Province, and 12 districts in Sindh Province. 

This program’s success is significant, given that these areas of Pakistan are under a US State Department Level 3 Travel Alert.

These results are an important positive indicator in achieving UN objectives for eliminating the epidemic in the near future. 

The program in Pakistan was launched upon the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the follow-up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to provide humanitarian assistance to Pakistan, support the health sector and strengthen the country's prevention programmes.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has donated $167 million US dollars since 2011 to support global efforts to eradicate polio, with a particular focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Poliomyelitis mostly affects children under the age of 5, and one in 200 is paralyzed once affected, and between 5 -10 percent of people with paralysis die because of failed respiratory function, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the CDC, polio was eliminated in the USA since 1979. 

Since 2000, the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is the only polio vaccine (4 doses) given to people in the USA, says the CDC. 

The IPV vaccination is now recommended when visiting various countries around the world. 

“Have an international trip coming up, but not sure what travel vaccines are recommended for the area you will be visiting?, asks Alexandria Duffield, Pharm.D. Clinical Pharmacist, MTM and Immunization Specialist for Brookshire Grocery Company.

“Sit down with a pharmacist today so they can go over vaccine recommendations and help protect you against vaccine-preventable illnesses."

Polio vaccination appointments can be easily scheduled at Vax-Before-Travel. 

And vaccine discounts can be found here.     

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the FDA or CDC.