By DIANN IVY CALUCIN
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) held a health and wellness fair to celebrate 'World Polio Day' at the QCPD Grandstand in Camp Tomas Caringal, Quezon City on Sunday, Oct. 23.
The celebration was held in cooperation with the District Community Affairs and Development Division (DCADD) and Rotary International (RI) District 3780.
RI District 3780 consists of 102 rotary clubs in QC that promote advanced world understanding, goodwill, and peace through improving health, supporting education, and alleviating poverty.
According to QCPD, around 249 police officers will undergo various medical checkups as part of its health and wellness fair.
Internal medicine consultation, bloodletting activity, urology, and orthopedic cases with free prostate and kidney ultrasounds will be among the medical operations to be conducted for QCPD members.
It said 30 residents aged zero to five would also be given oral polio vaccine.
Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III thanked all the people who helped them organize the activity, especially the Rotary Club International District 3780.
Torre also raised the importance of polio awareness and reminded the public about its health risk.
"To the parents and guardians who are present here today, I would like to encourage you to keep your children vaccinated not only polio vaccine but all those vaccines to make them fully immunized," Torre said.
Polio is a deadly disease caused by the poliovirus that spreads from one person to another, infecting the spinal cord and causing paralysis (inability to move parts of the body).
World Polio Day is celebrated to highlight global efforts toward a polio-free world and recognize the unwavering contributions of frontliners fighting to eradicate polio from society.