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are good scientific reasons for organizing frequent campaigns
and administering regular polio vaccine doses. To impede polio,
the wild poliovirus must be prevented from circulating in the
community and environment. If this circulation can be eliminated,
the virus will die out. Vaccinating the most susceptible population
(children under five years of age) at the same time is the most
effective way to block the spread. If mass vaccination is repeatedly
undertaken at an interval of 4-6 weeks, the lag in the circulation
will be prolonged and the poliovirus will disappear.
A second consideration
is that even 3 or 4 doses of the polio vaccine do not give 100%
protection against developing polio. A child with fewer than 3
doses has little or no protection against polio. Unvaccinated
and under vaccinated children are more likely to spread the polio
virus in their community than those who have received more doses.
Given the large population
and relatively high birth rate there are thousands of new children
each month who must start receiving the polio vaccine. As routine
immunization coverage in Pakistan remains below accepted standards
many of these children will not receive any or all of their scheduled
vaccination doses through the routine EPI Programme.
Lastly, despite
the massive efforts to reach all children under five years of
age during the national polio campaigns, there are children who
are missed or not reached at all. By improving the quality of
the campaigns and going house to house, the number of rounds required
may be reduced. House to house campaigns have proven superior
to exclusively fixed site campaigns in reaching larger numbers
of children under the age of five living in Pakistan. Especially
children, such as those living in Kachi Abadi, high rise apartments,
new settlements, commercial/ industrial areas, nomad and migrant
camps, Brick Killin, Dera Jats and scattered rural houses. Also,
members of minority groups often have been missed in previous
efforts.
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