335,000 to get polio vaccines

335,000 to get polio vaccines

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: About 335,000 children under five years of age will be given free polio vaccinations over the coming two years.

The program is part of the state-sponsored drive aimed at eradicating polio nationwide by the year 2000, chief of the provincial health office Soedarsono said yesterday.

The government will launch the national immunization program in September.

According to Soedarsono, there was only one polio case reported in the province over the past five years, Antara reported.

The provincial government will set up a special team in charge of collecting data on under-fives to make sure that no one in the age group misses out on immunization. (pan)