Pakistan to vaccinate all frontline health workers against Covid-19 in 1st quarter of 2021

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Thursday that all front line healthcare workers (FLHCW) would be inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine by the first quarter of 2021.

The nation’s nerve centre on coronavirus held a special session on Covid-19 vaccine availability and efficient administration to mull over the national vaccine strategy being devised to amicably ensure the immunisation process.

The forum discussed the epidemic curve chart data whereas NCOC National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamooduz Zaman Khan appraised the forum on the national vaccine strategy in line with the decision taken by NCOC.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division Khusroo Bakhtiyar, SAPM on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz Satti, Surgeon General Pakistan Army Lieutenant General Nigar Johar and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Nauman Zakria attended the special session of NCOC.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood attended the session via video link.

The forum was briefed in detail by NCOC Director-General Major General Asif Goraya that all efforts would be made to help facilitate federating units for smooth vaccine administration.

“As per the strategy, the front line healthcare workers are in the first stage of inoculation process of Covid-19 vaccine whereas in the next level, people above 65 years would be administered the vaccine due to their higher vulnerability to the deadly virus,” authorities informed NCOC.

“A special online National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) (portal) was developed by the NCOC in collaboration with the National Information Technology Board (NITB) which would serve as a brain of the entire immunisation process,” the NCOC was apprised.

The meeting was also told that that vaccine administration cells would be set up at all District and sub-division headquarters, hospital and regional health centres to ensure grassroot level approach of the vaccination process.

People would be trained by experts who would then begin the training of healthcare workers for the inoculation process, the forum added. “The training process would initiate at the federal, capital and provincial level.”

Statistics

Pakistan on Thursday reported 58 Covid-19 related deaths during the last 24 hours, taking country's total death toll to 10,105.

According to the NCOC, most deaths were reported in Punjab, followed by Sindh. The NCOC added that 31 Covid-19 patients died on the ventilator during the last 24 hours.

Out of the 10,105 total reported deaths, there had been about 3,533 deaths in Sindh, 4,013 in Punjab, 1,638 in K-P, 416 in Islamabad.

About 183 deaths had been reported in Balochistan and 101 deaths in G-B and 221 in AJK.

According to NCOC, about 4,960 patients had recovered from the deadly pandemic in the last 24 hours taking total recoveries to 435,073.

The NCOC also reported that a total of 6,696,068 tests had been conducted since the outbreak of the virus. There are about 626 hospitals with Covid-19 facilities with 2,691 patients admitted across the country.

Active cases

About 2,475 tested positive out of 39,695 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

The total number of active Covid-19 across Pakistan was reported to be at 34,537.

The number of active cases in Sindh was 16,241, 10,667 in Punjab, 3,469 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 3,429 in Islamabad, 263 in Balochistan, 50 in Gilgit Baltistan and 418 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Ventilators and oxygen-bed occupancy

The highest number of ventilators occupied in the country was found to be in Islamabad with 41 per cent occupancy, followed by Multan at 38 per cent, Lahore 34 per cent and Peshawar 31 per cent.

Meanwhile, the highest number of oxygen bed occupancy in the country was reported in Peshawar at 58 per cent followed by Multan with 39 per cent, Islamabad 35 per cent and Karachi 29 per cent.