Polio booster drive in Peshawar and Khyber from October 26, children to get IPV through needle-free jet injectors

PESHAWAR: Another round of protection for children in the Peshawar division begins at the end of this month. A polio booster campaign will run in Peshawar and Khyber districts from October 26 to 31, and this time the vaccine will not come through a conventional syringe. Children from four months to under 10 years of age will be given the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) through a needle-free jet injector, a device that tends to frighten young patients far less and lets teams work faster.

Preparations reviewed at a high-level meeting

Arrangements were discussed at a meeting chaired by Commissioner Peshawar Division Captain (retd) Khalid Mahmood, with representatives of the relevant departments in the room. Officials said vaccination would not be limited to Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) centres; teams will also work at outreach sites and in schools, so children who rarely reach a fixed centre are not left out. The commissioner pledged the administration’s full support and directed departments to coordinate properly and carry out the agreed measures without gaps.

Why this block still matters

The drive carries extra weight because the Peshawar block, Khyber district included, has remained one of the sensitive areas for polio this year, with fresh cases reported in Khyber during 2026. Pakistan has already run several large vaccination campaigns this year, yet the virus keeps surfacing where coverage slips. The lesson officials repeat after every round is simple enough: as long as one eligible child is missed, the risk stays alive. Whether teams actually reach every home and classroom between October 26 and 31 will decide what this booster round achieves.