Egypt to start 2nd phase of nationwide polio vaccination campaign Sunday

CAIRO – 27 March 2021: Egypt’s Health Ministry announced launching the second stage of the nationwide polio vaccination campaign starting Sunday for Egyptians and non-Egyptian children residing in the country.

The campaign targets vaccinating 16.7 million children under five years old. It extends until March 31st.

The first phase of the campaign last month managed to reach more than 98 percent of the targeted children, according to official data, including more than 17,000 non-Egyptian children.

The annual vaccination program aims to raise community immunity against the disease, and acts as a pre-emptive step in conjunction with polio outbreaks in a number of neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Vaccination will be done through fixed teams in thousands of health offices and units, and medical centers, in addition to mobile teams in major squares and train and subway stations.

There will also be vaccination points next to mosques, churches, clubs, markets and bus and car stops.

Egypt joined the list in 2006 with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF declaring that it was polio-free after the last case was discovered in 2004.