Refusing the polio vaccine can put parents in jail.

Under the Sindh Immunization and Epidemic Control Bill 2023, the province government authorized deputy commissioners to take action against these parents.

Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children risk a fine of fifty thousand rupees and a jail sentence of one month. The health department and polio workers will identify parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, and in conjunction with the police, they will take appropriate action against them.

The Sindh police have been directed to work in tandem with the health department and polio workers in this particular situation.

The day before, at the recently established Gulshan-e-Aka Khail in Gadap, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah launched a week-long anti-polio campaign spanning 24 districts. He also urged parents to vaccinate their children against the life-threatening virus by giving them oral polio vaccines.

CM Murad declared, “Together, as a community, let us forge a path towards a polio-free environment, securing a healthier future for our children.”

According to him, more than 62,000 front-line staff members will labor across the province to guarantee that every eligible youngster receives this potentially life-saving vaccination.

Nearly 4000 security guards will assist with this enormous endeavor. In the final stages of our struggle against this crippling illness, the CM urged all hospitals, schools, and caregivers to welcome vaccinators. After all, they are really battling on the front lines.

On April 19, environmental samples from Karachi and Quetta were found to contain the polio virus.

Details reveal that two polio-positive individuals in Chaman and Dera Bugti earlier this year shared the same cross-border virus. Thus far, testing of the country’s ambient materials and sewage systems have revealed the presence of polio.