The deputy commissioner of Hyderabad has announced to impose fines on parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against polio.
According to a notification, Deputy Commissioner Tariq Qureshi has been empowered to impose fines under Section 1. In addition to the fines, parents who refuse polio vaccination for their kids could also face potential jail terms.
The notification stated that such parents would be fined Rs. 50,000 and imprisoned for a month. The Deputy Commissioner urged the public to support the government’s efforts in eradicating polio by vaccinating their children.
It is pertinent to mention that a nationwide vaccination campaign to immunize more than 24 million children under the age of five against poliovirus began yesterday.
During the campaign, children will be vaccinated in Islamabad, 10 districts of Punjab, 24 districts of Sindh, 26 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 30 districts of Balochistan.
According to PM’s Coordinator on National Health Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, poliovirus has been detected in multiple sewage samples in the country in recent months. He added that polio can only be prevented through the administration of polio drops to children.
