ISLAMABAD: Following an alarming increase in measles cases and deaths countrywide the health authorities will start 13-day long vaccination drive from November 15 till 27. According to officials of the Federal Ministry for National Health Services and Regulations, the number of measles deaths in Pakistan this year has reached 127, and thousands of children were infected with the virus.

According to officials, last year 51 children died of measles, while this year, deaths have increased over 100 percent. During the campaign, children from nine months to 15 years of age would be immunised. A comprehensive plan for the anti-measles and rubella campaign was presented and a detailed briefing on the preparations was given in the meeting.

During the two weeks' measles vaccination drive, Pakistan is all set to vaccinate 32 million children against measles and rubella from November 15 to 27 in order to mitigate the risk of outbreak. The country has reported 8,350 measles cases during the ongoing year, which as compared with 2020's number of 2,747 cases is almost three times high.

Sindh remained the most measles-affected region in the country, wherein, a total 45 deaths have been reported followed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) with 39 deaths, Balochistan with 26 deaths, and Punjab with 17 deaths.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021