But it can be prevented with a vaccine: polio cases worldwide have been reduced by more than 99% since the 1980s thanks to immunization campaigns. A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in a downtown area of Lahore, Pakistan, on September 9, 2024. In September, armed militants killed a police officer protecting a polio vaccination site in the northwest city of Bannu, prompting protests. But in some cases, children have been incorrectly marked as having been vaccinated when they haven’t, Kakar said. The country is launching a new nationwide polio vaccination campaign on October 28 with the aim of inoculating 45 million children under age 5.

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