Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud told CNN that the 513 arrests took place Monday and Tuesday as part of a government campaign to administer polio vaccines in parts of Pakistan\u2019s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.<\/p>\n
Those arrested will be released on bail if they sign an affidavit stating that they will let their children get vaccinated, according to the deputy commissioner.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s vaccination rate is inordinately low for a number of reasons, including attacks on medical workers, the displacement of people due to ongoing military operations and a lack of trust by some families.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, the fact that a large number of children are not immunized is having an impact.<\/p>\n
Such vaccines are credited with wiping out polio in most parts of the world. But Pakistan is an exception, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative<\/a>, a public-private partnership that includes the World Health Organization and United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF). The South Asian nation leads all others in new polio cases in recent years, and has nine of this year\u2019s 10 reported cases.<\/p>\n