Govt to provide free Covid-19 vaccine to masses: Dr Faisal

Health workers to be vaccinated in first phase followed by senior citizens, says PM's aide

Prime Minister's Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan on Wednesday said that the government will provide Covid-19 vaccine to the general public free of cost, according to Radio Pakistan.

Participating in an online workshop pertaining to health, he said that China has gifted half a million doses of the vaccine to Pakistan, which will be made available to the people free of cost from next week.

PM's aide said that in the first phase, frontline health workers will be vaccinated, while in the second phase, senior citizens will be administered with anti-Covid medicine. He said so far 400,000 health workers have been registered for vaccination.

Dr Faisal Sultan stressed the need for adhering to precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also urged the media to play its due role in creating awareness in this regard.

Read more: Covid-19 vaccination drive to kick off from next week: Asad

The statement comes as Pakistan reported 1,563 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 537,477.

The national death toll climbed to 11,450 after 74 persons succumbed to the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, 2,081 patients recovered from the deadly disease in a day.

Earlier today, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that Pakistan will start its Covid-19 vaccination drive next week, starting with the front-line health workers.

"God willing, the vaccination of frontline health workers will start next week," Asad Umar, who oversees the country's efforts to stem the coronavirus pandemic, said in a tweet.

China has pledged a donation of 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese firm Sinopharm. Two government sources said the first batch would be flown in on Saturday.

The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) also unveiled a comprehensive plan to administer the vaccine for the Covid-19 across the country to curb the pandemic's spread.

The plan has been adopted after taking all the provinces and other stakeholders onboard, a meeting of NCOC held today in Islamabad in this regard was apprised. It added that the strategy has been evolved in light of the established international regulations and health guidelines.

The session was chaired by Asad Umar, accompanied by National Coordinator NCOC Lieutenant General Hamood-uz-Zaman Khan and Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood.