ISLAMABAD, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan will vaccinate over 4 million children under the age of five against the incurable polio virus in the second phase of an anti-polio drive in two provinces of Pakistan, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.
More than 4.12 million children will be vaccinated in the immunization campaign that began on Monday in 12 districts of southwest Balochistan and 26 districts of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country, a spokesperson for the ministry said.
Hundreds of health workers are taking part in the door-to-door vaccination drive, the ministry said, urging the parents and caregivers to vaccinate their children to save them from the crippling disease.
Earlier, a total of 17.41 million children up to five years of age have been vaccinated against the polio virus during the first phase of the drive, which ran from March 13 to March 17 across the country.
Pakistan reported its first case of polio virus in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in March this year. Last year, the virus was found in 20 children in the same province.
