Leslie RobertsScience's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.In a sad knock-on effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) abruptly halted all mass vaccination campaigns in March, worried they could inadvertently spread the novel coronavirus.
The move further imperiled the troubled 3-decade drive to wipe out polio.But now, armed with new data and perspective, GPEI and the countries it supports are resuming vaccination campaigns.
Burkina Faso was first out of the gate in early July; Pakistan followed yesterday. Polio cases are surging in many countries, and models paint a “pretty bleak picture” if campaigns don’t restart soon, says Michel Zaffran, who.