Polio Committee urges parents to continue vaccinating children
The Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee has advised parents to continue to get their children immunised against polio even though the country was certified polio-free by the World Health Organisation in 2020.
The Committee Chairman, Dr Tunji Funsho, gave the advice in Abuja at a news conference to commemorate World Polio Day.
He advised that children should continue to be inoculated against the disease until the entire world is certified Wild Polio Virus-free.
Funsho named Afghanistan and Pakistan as among the countries still being ravaged by polio.
He stated that his committee had done a lot of work as regards polio in Nigeria, adding that the polio vaccine was safe.
The Chairman, therefore, appealed to parents to make their children available for WPV vaccination.
“The World Polio Day was set aside originally to commemorate the birthday of the scientist who discovered the first polio vaccine in 1955. However, the current oral polio vaccine was developed in 1960.
“Another major reason for organising and celebrating World Polio Day is to continue our advocacy effort in ensuring that we immunise every child below age five against the poliovirus and be protected against WPV,” he said.
NAN/PIAK
