Al Jazeera: Anti-vaxxers stand in way of Pakistan’s final fight against polio
“…Today, Pakistan is one of the last countries with the wild poliovirus, reporting at least 15 cases this year. … In recent years, … Pakistan has been able to celebrate a precipitous drop, after recording more than 300 cases in 2014. Much of this success has been driven by more than 250,000 polio workers who have ventured into remote and inaccessible patches of the country to administer vaccinations to children under the age of five. However, recent eradication efforts have been stymied by suspicion from parents and the public at large that the vaccine is unsafe, driven by misinformation spread on social media…” (Toppa, 5/14).

The Guardian: The women defying menace and mistrust to rid Pakistan of polio
“…[A]rmed with essential vaccine drops and children’s vitamins — not to mention facts, smartphone videos, and the endorsements from doctors, clerics, and celebrities that have become an essential part of attempts to eradicate the centuries-old disease in Pakistan — [polio workers] remain resolute. Nationwide, a quarter of a million frontline workers are involved in efforts to vaccinate the 40 million children in the country under the age of five…” (Lamble, 5/14).