Pakistan begins another vaccination campaign after a worrying surge in polio cases

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has begun a nationwide vaccination campaign to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases. The country regularly launches such campaigns, but violence targeting the health workers and police assigned to escort them is common. Militants falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children. The one-week campaign starting Monday is the third this year. In Afghanistan, vaccinations have started in 16 of the country’s 34 provinces. The three-day campaign targets 6.2 million children under the age of 5. World Health Organization data says there have been 23 confirmed cases in Afghanistan this year.