Islamabad, June 29, 2025: Pakistan recorded over 60,000 polio vaccine refusals during its nationwide anti-polio campaign held from April 21 to 27, raising fresh concerns over vaccine hesitancy and its impact on eradication efforts, a private news channel reported Sunday, citing official sources.
According to the report, a total of 60,906 cases of polio vaccine refusal were documented during the country’s second national polio campaign of the year.
The highest number of refusals was reported from Sindh, with 39,073 cases, over 37,000 of which came from Karachi alone — a long-standing hotspot for vaccine resistance. Balochistan followed with more than 3,500 refusals, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the refusal rate stood at 0.4%. Instances of parental refusal were also reported in Punjab and Islamabad.
Health officials have expressed serious concern over the persistence of vaccine hesitancy, which they say continues to hinder Pakistan’s decades-long battle to eliminate polio.
Adding to the challenge, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed another new polio case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, specifically from the Ama Khel Union Council in Tank District, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country this year to 13.
Polio is a highly infectious and potentially paralyzing disease with no cure. Health experts emphasize that multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the completion of routine immunization schedules are essential to build immunity in children under the age of five.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Program continues to conduct multiple mass vaccination drives annually, delivering vaccines directly to households, while the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) provides free vaccination services for 12 preventable childhood diseases at health facilities nationwide.
Authorities are urging parents to ensure their children under five receive all necessary doses to protect them against the virus and support national efforts to eliminate polio once and for all.
