Posted by Zone 27 Polio Coordinator Bob Rogers
Editor's Note: Last month there was incorrect information in the newsletter, indicating only four (4) case of wild polio virus this far in 2021.  In actuality, there have been only two (2) case thus far in 2021, as of the 21 April 21 report. Read on for further information! Please note Get a Shot Give a Shot in the article!
 
 
 
Rotary Zones 26 & 27
PolioPlus Weekly Update 21 April, 2021
 
 
 

 

                               Greetings Polio Warriors:
 
 
Wild Polio Virus - OK…EXHALE
 
. If you’ve been like me, you’ve
 
been holding your breath once again to see if any new cases of wild polio were going to rear its ugly head, and now YOU CAN BREATHE. No new cases this last week.
 
ONE HUNDRED AND TEN The number of days since the last case of the wild poliovirusType 1 occurred in Afghanistan.
EIGHTY-FOUR - The number of days since the last case of the wild poliovirusType 1 occurred in Pakistan.
TWO - The total number of cases of the wild poliovirus Type 1 that occurred in the world sinceNew Years Day.
FORTY-TWO - The number of cases of the wild poliovirus Type 1 that occurred in 2020 on this date.
 
Last week marks the TWELFTH WEEK IN A ROW that there have been no reported new cases of the wild polio virus in either Pakistan or Afghanistan. We did have three environmental samples show up in Pakistan this week compared to one the week before. This shows that the virus is stillcirculating in the environment, letting us know not to let our guard down. But.. we’ve definitelyearned another happy dance around our office chairs…GO FOR
IT!!!😊 .
 
 
  • Vaccine-Derived PolioNow for some more good news. Last week saw ZERO NEW CASES of the vaccine- derived poliovirus, compared to 15 the week before. Therefore, the totalremains at 63 for the year compared to last year’s 80 at this time. However, like the wild polio virus environmental samples, 11 positive samples of the vaccine derived polio did occur, againreminding us not to let our guard down.
 
  • GET A SHOT, GIVE A SHOT - This is WORLD IMMUNIZATION WEEKApril 24th - 30th and the perfect time to “Pay It Forward” by “paying” for the free Covid-19 shots you received from the Government with a $25 donation to PolioPlus. Let’s “Walk Our Talk”Click on the link https://my.rotary.org/en/donate, select “Polio Fund”, then scroll down and click the $25 dollar box.From there you will be prompted to sign in to complete your transaction with your credit card. It only took me about 2 minutes to do it. 
  • Please spread the word among your club presidents and foundation chairs, so they in turn, can encourage their club members to do the same. As I’ve said before, $25 individually isn’t a lot, but collectively it can become a significant amount.
  • Reports from GPEI’s TAG (Technical Advisory Group) - Technical advisory groups review progress towards polio eradication and gives technical advice on local strategy, priorities and program operations. They make recommendations on actions required to achieve success and review implementation of previousrecommendations.The GPEI has made available reports from the Technical Advisory Group (TAG)meetings for Pakistan and Afghanistan, which were held virtually in February and March this year. If you really want to drill down deep into the subject, this is your source. Click on the link above.
 
Speaking of “Get a Shot, Give a Shot”, hopefully you all now have access to getting your “jabs”. As always, thank you so much for all you do.