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Arab News
3 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Over 36 million children vaccinated as Pakistan anti-polio campaign enters fourth day
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated approximately 36.4 million children as the third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year entered its fourth day today, Thursday, the country's polio program said. Around 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators, are driving the campaign launched on Monday to vaccinate 45 million children under the age of five. The drive will conclude on June 1. Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children, are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Pakistan has reported 10 polio cases so far this year, compared to 74 cases in 2024. 'In the first three days, 81 percent of (45 million) children across the country have been vaccinated,' the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement. '85 percent in Punjab, 68 percent in Sindh, 86 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 74 percent of children in Balochistan have been vaccinated.' The report said 63 percent of children were administered polio drops in the federal capital, Islamabad, 93 percent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 91 percent in Gilgit-Baltistan. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. Pakistan's polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage. Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks. A Pakistani police officer was killed earlier this week when gunmen opened fire on a team of health workers carrying out a polio vaccination drive in the volatile Balochistan province on the second day of a door-to-door campaign.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
First-Time Home Buyers in Florida: Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate Shares Insights on State Assistance Programs in HelloNation Magazine
VERO BEACH, Fla., May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When navigating the complexities of homeownership for the first time, many Florida residents are discovering that the right guidance and programs can significantly ease the transition. This is especially true for those benefiting from the Hometown Heroes Housing Program, a state initiative aimed at helping frontline workers and eligible first-time homebuyers secure their futures. In HelloNation Magazine, Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate in Vero Beach, Florida, shares practical insights on how this program can turn the dream of homeownership into a reality for many who serve the state's communities. The Hometown Heroes Housing Program stands out for its structured support. By offering up to five percent of a loan amount — capped at $35,000 — as a zero-interest, non-amortizing second mortgage, the program removes significant financial hurdles. These funds can be used for down payments and closing costs, and repayment is deferred until the property is sold, refinanced, or transferred. Bryk emphasizes the impact of this deferred model in giving first-time buyers breathing room during one of life's largest investments. The eligibility criteria are designed to prioritize both need and service. Applicants must be first-time buyers — defined as those who have not owned a home in the past three years — and must work full-time for a Florida-based employer. Veterans are notably exempt from both these requirements. The program also targets income thresholds by county, up to 150 percent of the area median income. It covers a wide range of essential service roles including law enforcement, education, healthcare, emergency response, and active military. Additional qualifications include a minimum credit score of 640 and completion of a HUD-approved homebuyer education course. Ben Bryk notes the flexibility of the program in accommodating various standard loan products such as FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional financing, making it a highly accessible path to homeownership. Florida's frontline workers and service professionals now have a clearer route toward stable housing thanks to initiatives like the Hometown Heroes Housing Program. Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate provides a closer look at this opportunity in Florida's Hometown Heroes: Help for First-Time Homebuyers in HelloNation Magazine. About HelloNationHelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative 'edvertising' approach that blends educational content and storytelling, HelloNation delivers expert-driven articles that inform, inspire, and empower. Covering topics from home improvement and health to business strategy and lifestyle, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. Staff Writerinfo@ photo accompanying this announcement is available at in to access your portfolio
Arab News
6 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan kicks off nationwide polio drive, aims to vaccinate 45 million children
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday kicked off a third nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of this year that aims to inoculate more than 45 million children under the age of five. Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease. Pakistan has confirmed 10 cases so far this year, according to the polio program. Environmental surveillance has detected the virus in 272 sewage samples from 127 testing sites, across 68 districts, signaling continued circulation. Inaugurating the campaign at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in Islamabad, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said community engagement was inevitable in eliminating the virus from Pakistan, urging parents to immunize all children under the age of five years. 'Protect your children from permanent disability by vaccinating them,' Kamal said, describing frontline anti-polio workers as the 'real heroes.' 'Full-fledged community engagement is essential for the eradication of polio.' Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Pakistan's polio program on Sunday described the weeklong campaign as a critical intervention in the country's 'final push' to interrupt poliovirus transmission and achieve eradication by end of 2025. Around 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators, are taking part in the current campaign and will go door-to-door to inoculate children. Pakistan's polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage. Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Major infection warning as record number of NHS staff reject flu vaccine - uptake falls from nearly 80 to 37% in four years
Hospitals were crippled by flu outbreaks this winter after record numbers of frontline NHS workers shunned the jab, the Mail can reveal. Fewer than four in ten staff (37 per cent) received the vaccine, with rates plummeting to less than one in ten (8.8 per cent) in some areas. Patient groups described the level of uptake as 'shocking' and accused refuseniks of negligently fuelling sickness and putting vulnerable people at increased risk of death. The all-time low came as overwhelming demand for care forced over a dozen trusts to declare 'critical incidents' and Britain's top doctor warned of 'skyrocketing' cases of flu. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the then national medical director of NHS England, urged patients to get the vaccine saying it could protect them and others from the virus. Speaking last December, he said: 'The flu vaccine is our best defence against winter viruses, and it also helps to reduce pressure on hospitals.' But new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats and shared exclusively with the Mail show most NHS staff failed to follow their employer's own advice. The proportion of healthcare workers, such as doctors and nurses, receiving a flu vaccine over winter fell from 64 per cent in 2016/17, when data was first collected, to just 37 per cent this year. That is a record low and a fall of 26.7 percentage points. There has been a marked fall in vaccine uptake from the peak of 2020/21 where it hit 76 per cent. Previous plans to make the vaccine compulsory were dropped amid a backlash from critics, who claimed the medical intervention should be down to personal choice. But Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said: 'The NHS should make having the flu jab a condition of employment for frontline staff unless an individual has medical grounds for exemption. 'The shockingly low rates of uptake show a certain arrogance - a total disregard for patient safety - and puts vulnerable people at increased risk of death. 'Most NHS staff who catch flu will probably be OK but the people they are caring for may not survive if they pass it to them. It's personal negligence. 'Hospitals will have fared better over winter if more staff had bothered to get a flu vaccine, which we know is effective.' The levels of flu vaccine uptake varied hugely between NHS Trusts, despite it being offered to frontline NHS staff for free nationwide. The lowest uptake in the country was at Camden and Islington NHS Trust, where just 8.8 per cent of all healthcare workers had received a jab. This was followed by Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust on 9.5 per cent and then Central and North West London Trust on 15.5 per cent. In total, 62 of the 184 NHS Trusts which had reported data for this winter saw less than a third of their staff take-up the flu vaccine, according to research by the House of Commons Library for the Liberal Democrats. There have been some drastic falls in some NHS Trusts in the number of staff taking up the vaccine in recent years. In Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, there was a fall of 60.5 percentage points in the proportion of staff who received the flu vaccine this winter compared with 2016/17, with just 15.7 per cent of staff now vaccinated. At Lewisham and Greenwich there was a 59.5 percentage point fall and at Birmingham Women and Children's Hospital it was 59.2 percentage points. Since 2016/17 the number of healthcare workers delivering direct patient care has grown by more than 350,000 to almost 950,000, a jump of 45 per cent. But despite this rise in headcount, the number of staff taking up the flu vaccine fell by 76,000 (15.3 per cent) over the same period, from 496,000 to 420,000. Flu patients occupied hospital beds for a record number of days this winter – over 315,000 compared with around 174,000 in 2023/24 and 211,000 in 2022/23. This contributed to bed occupancy rates hitting 96 per cent at points this year, while a 'safe' rate is considered to be 85 per cent. Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat's health and social care spokesperson, said: 'Many A&Es resembled a war-zone at times during the winter. 'People were waiting in intolerable pain, treated in corridors and dying in glorified cupboards. 'The system is broken from top to bottom, with hospitals unable to move people into the community because of a lack of care provision, leading to deadly backlogs in our hospitals. 'The surge in those staying in hospital because they had flu, leading to fewer beds for those coming into A&E was a major problem contributing to these awful scenes. 'That's why it is absolutely vital that the Government boosts vaccine uptake through a coordinated awareness campaign across the health service, ensuring that staff are properly supported as they continue to do life-saving work for our NHS.' An NHS England spokesperson said: 'We strongly urge all eligible frontline health and social care workers and other at-risk groups to come forward for vaccination as soon as the programme starts in Autumn. 'The NHS continues to make flu vaccination for frontline staff as accessible as possible backed by an enhanced campaign to encourage staff to protect themselves and their patients. 'Flu hospitalises thousands of people every winter, putting immense pressure on our health service at its busiest time. 'Having our dedicated staff protected and healthy is crucial to their health and wellbeing, to meet these demands and provide the care patients need. 'Our upcoming Urgent and Emergency Care plan will include targeted initiatives to boost vaccine uptake, with a focus on healthcare workers, those most vulnerable and children, recognising that vaccination remains our strongest defence against flu.'
