Polio campaign reaches 22.1 million children in four days
The National Emergency Operations Centre says the fifth day of the 97-district round is under way and teams will keep working until November 8.
More than 22.1 million children were vaccinated against polio in the first four days of a sub-national campaign being run in 97 districts, the National Emergency Operations Centre said on Friday. The round is scheduled to continue until November 8.
The centre said the fifth day of the drive was under way and that vaccination activities would carry on without interruption until the closing date. About 24 million children under the age of five are the target for the round, according to the statement.
The 22.1 million figure is a count from the 97 districts selected for this round and not a total for every district of Pakistan. Districts left out of the round are not reflected in it, and the statement carried no province-wise or district-wise split.
The statement, issued through the Associated Press of Pakistan, also gave no day-by-day breakdown and no number for children who were not reached. It did not express coverage as a percentage of the 24 million target.
In Punjab, The News reported that more than 6 million children had been vaccinated against polio. The report did not say which days the provincial figure covered, or whether it forms part of the 22.1 million counted by the centre.
The four-day total does not include vaccinations given on Friday, the fifth day of the round. The centre gave no figure for the fifth day and said only that teams were working through the schedule until November 8.
The statement described the drive as an ongoing sub-national immunisation campaign. It named no district individually and set no target for any single district.
The statement was carried by the state news agency. It named no NEOC official and quoted no provincial health department.
How the reports differ
The Associated Press of Pakistan led with the National Emergency Operations Centre's national tally: 22.1 million children in four days across 97 districts, against a target of about 24 million under five. The News led with a provincial figure, reporting that more than 6 million children had been vaccinated in Punjab, and did not say which days that number covers or how it relates to the national count. APP carried the closing date of November 8 and the district count; The News's report as published carried neither.
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