Punjab on Monday launched the fifth and final Polio National Immunization Days (NIDs) campaign of 2025, aiming to vaccinate more than 17 million children under five across the province.

The campaign is a key step in Punjab’s push to eliminate poliovirus and protect children from lifelong paralysis. Health authorities say sustained, high-quality vaccination drives remain essential to stop virus transmission.

Adeel Tasawur, Head of the Punjab Polio Programme, said over 200,000 trained polio workers and supervisors have been deployed. He warned that poliovirus is still a serious threat and stressed that consistent efforts are critical to break the chain of spread.

Lahore, identified as a core polio reservoir district, will run a seven-day extended campaign, while vaccination in other districts will continue for four days. The workforce includes 16,605 area in-charges, nearly 4,000 union council medical officers, and more than 84,000 mobile team members, supported by fixed and transit vaccination points.

Punjab has reported only one polio case this year, even as virus circulation continues in other provinces. Environmental surveillance data shows a sharp improvement, with virus positivity dropping from 43 percent in June to 26 percent in November.

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However, 16 districts, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad, remain affected. Officials say 78.72 percent of positive samples are linked within Punjab, with Lahore a major source of internal transmission.

Authorities have strengthened transit vaccination points and focused outreach on mobile populations. Tasawur urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams, saying repeated doses are safe and vital. He reaffirmed Punjab’s goal of a polio-free future by 2026.