Covid-19 vaccine donors urged to monitor distribution in Pakistan

Speakers warn of free drugs being sold in markets

ISLAMABAD:

The stakeholders speaking at a webinar have suggested the Covid-19 vaccine donors to strictly monitor the distribution and administration of free doses being donated to the government of Pakistan.

They alleged that free vaccine doses might be grabbed by unscrupulous elements having links in the government and sold on high prices as was done in the case of Covid-19 free testing-kits.

The trust deficit between the people and the government has widened, speakers said at the webinar was organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) and the DTN. They stressed the need for external monitoring and control mechanisms for the Covid-19 vaccination to be in place to benefit the genuinely needy ones and the frontline workers and aged people.

The participants urged the Chinese government to administer the free-doses of vaccination under their own supervision and by their own teams to ensure the rational use of the donated vaccine.

Read More: Pakistan's Covid-19 positivity ratio at 3.96%: NCOC

The key experts included Prime Ministers Shelter Programme Head Naseemur Rehman, Dr Masood Ghani, Dr Muhammad Ali, Dr Amena Hasan, Dr Arshad Mahmood, Robeela Bangash, Zatasha Niazi, Dr Khushboo Ejaz, local leader from Gilgit-Baltistan Iqbal Hussain, Azhar Qureshi, Islamabad Crescent Lions Club President Bashir Ahmed.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed hosted and moderated the webinar.

Rehman said the government would take care of the marginalised communities during the Covid-19 vaccination phase after the free-doses administered to the frontline workers including the medical professionals and aged persons.

Dr Masood Ghani, a well-known health practitioner said the centre and provinces are not on the same page in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and its vaccination. Dr Muhammad Ali said: “We have no data analysis of the local vaccination trials that is why we prefer the Chinese one.” he said.

Munir Ahmed said donors should send their own teams with free vaccines doses to ensure transparency in vaccination and rational distribution.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2021.