The Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ADPHCDA) says it has deployed at least 5,433 health officials in the 21 local government areas for the second round of polio vaccination.

The executive chairman of the agency, Suleiman Bashir, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Yola on Saturday.

Mr Bashir said that the exercise would be carried out between November 11 and November 14 and would target at least one million children aged 0-59 months in the 226 wards.

He said that the state did not have any cases of polio but that the vaccine was meant to help boost the children’s immunity against the virus.

According to him, in the first round, 1,304,713 children were vaccinated.

“This made the state achieve 103 per cent of the exercise,” he said.

Mr Bashir also said that the previous exercise was conducted for some children in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

“This time around, it would be administered to them in their houses,” he further said.

The ADPHCDA boss, therefore, called on parents and caregivers to avail their children of the opportunity to be vaccinated, saying that the vaccine is safe and effective.

“For us to be free from polio, we need to boost the immunity of our children against polio and other diseases,” he said.

He commended the agency’s partners, including the media as well as traditional and religious leaders, for their support and contribution towards ensuring the wellbeing of the Adamawa people.

(NAN)