GUJRANWALA: Three people were injured on Tuesday when a polio team was attacked in Gujranwala, Express News reported.



On August 31, the Gujranwala district health office had announced that a polio vaccination campaign would be launched on September 29.



Despite the number of polio cases increasing with each passing day, the authorities have failed to put a concrete plan in place. Polio workers are frequently targeted in the country, while many parents refuse to let health workers administer polio drops to their children.



For this year alone, the total number of reported polio cases stands at 174 in Pakistan - one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic.



Polio drive underway in Bahawalpur



Some 587,000 children under the age of five will be administered anti-polio vaccines during an anti-polio campaign, which is currently underway in Bahawalpur.



According to District Coordination Officer Bahawalpur Imran Sikandar Baloch, the campaign will continue until October 1. Baloch said mobile teams are operating in Cholistan and other remote areas where a door-to-door campaign is taking place.



“Besides ,1019 mobile teams, 154 teams are also functioning,” he said, adding, “Fifteen teams are operating at bus stands, airports, railway stations and toll plazas, while 15 other teams are working in markets and other public places.”



Further, he added that some 4,387 children from flood affected areas have been administered with anti-polio vaccines, while 21,000 people were provided with free medicine after a medical check-up.