Please review the following message from Ed Marek, District Governor 5960...
As winter fades (knock on wood!) and the spring takes over, we are heading into World Immunization Week (April 24-30). In our district, thanks to a big push during the Strike Out Polio campaign in October 2020, we've raised over $110,000 for PolioPlus. Forty-eight clubs have already participated and we want to work hard to get up to 100% participation. As Richard Maus (himself a polio survivor) said in 2013 when he accepted the "Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World" (the Americas Region of the World Health Organization), "When someone asks me where I was during the fight to eradicate polio, I want to be able to say I was doing my part". On the downside, we still have seventeen clubs that have not yet stepped up to contribute something to the cause. This email is to celebrate what we've done already and get motivated for a strong finish. As you know, the entire African Region was certified free of wild poliovirus in August 2020 and only Pakistan and Afghanistan remain polio-endemic. In 1988, when Rotary took on this job, there were 125 countries that were still polio-endemic and 350,000 cases across the globe. What you might not know is that the cold chains that Rotary and its partners have put into place across the globe (refrigerators, vehicles, bicycles, thermal carrying cases) will be used to transport COVID-19 vaccines as well. The laboratories that we've built are already being used to track COVID-19 and prevent its spread. The volunteers we have trained for polio work are also helping with education to families about wearing masks, hand-washing, and getting vaccinated as soon as possible. In some ways, the developing world is more committed than the developed world to vaccination, due in part to Rotary's strong work in support of polio eradication. Please share the following video with your club, https://youtu.be/veSxemvEqr8 . Check with your board to be sure you've set and met your goals for the year for PolioPlus. Does your club need updates and some motivation? We have a speaker team ready to Zoom in (or even attend in person) to present on the current status of polio eradication. Less than ten cases so far this year of the wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but we need to keep the pressure on and keep vaccination rates high to create herd immunity and maintain it for three full years to rid the world of polio. We are truly sooooo close! Not long ago, younger Rotarians had a hard time understanding what the fear of polio was all about. It was hard to accept that schools, swimming pools, and theaters would be closed and people could not congregate every polio season. How could polio close down the State Fair in 1946? Now, unfortunately, the idea of a pandemic is very real to all of us and many of us have lost friends and family to COVID-19. We know the importance of getting the vaccines to those in need. This is the year for us to double down and recommit to finishing the job of eradicating polio. In the process, we'll be helping to protect people around the world from COVID-19 as well. Sincerely, DG Ed Marek District Rotary Foundation Team Leader PDG Kyle Haugen Joe Stahlman and Charlie Cogan, Co-Leaders of the District 5960 PolioPlus Team |
