Eradicating polio from Pakistan: Multiple doses of vaccine needed to ensure immunity, say experts

According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP), conflict, political instability, hard-to-reach populations, and poor infrastructure continue to pose challenges to eradicating the polio virus. While the PPEP has made a lot of effort to raise awareness on the importance of getting children vaccinated, the number of refusals remains alarmingly high. Frequent vaccination campaigns are organised because children require a certain minimum number doses of the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) to ensure their adequate protection against the disease. According to Dr Ali Faisal Saleem, an infectious diseases expert at the Children's Hospital at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, "OPVs are administered as oral drops, which boost the child's immunity and are hence more important in a country like Pakistan, where the polio virus is still prevalent."