Govt decides to inoculate elderly people with AstraZeneca vaccine

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan has announced that people aged over 65 will be administrated UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from next month.

“We are hopeful that the next phase of vaccination drive will commence from next month and Pakistan will receive 2.8 million doses of AstraZenaca in March under COVAX facility,” Dr Faisal said while addressing a media in Islamabad on Thursday.

By June this year, he said, Pakistan will receive a total 17 million doses of AstraZeneca under the same facility.

The World Health Organisation panel has said that the benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University outweigh any risks and the shot should recommended for use, including in people aged 65 and older.

In interim recommendations on the shot, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) panel said the vaccine should be given in two doses, with an interval of around 8 to 12 weeks between the first and second doses.

Dr Faisal said the government on the recommendation of experts has decided not to inoculate Chinese made Sinopharm vaccine to people age 60 or above due to lack of data available regarding its efficacy.

The SPAM added that decision has been taken as the people who participated in the Chinese vaccine trials were mostly of age below 60. “This does not mean that Chinese vaccine is not safe for use,” he said while urging the public to get themselves and their elders vaccinated. “The decision also reflects that health officials are very concerned about the health and safety of their citizens."

The PM's aide went on to say that Sinopharm is completely safe for use and so the masses should dismiss any reservation about its use.

He said so far 58,000 frontline heath care workers have been vaccinated across the country.

The government launched a vaccination drive this month with 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by longtime ally China.

Registration for vaccine

The government has relaxed the process to register for coronavirus vaccine under which registered frontline healthcare workers now do not need to wait to be assigned an Adult Vaccination Center (AVC) and date of appointment.

According to an official statement, the health care workers can SMS their CNIC [computerised national identity card] number to 1166 and visit their nearest AVC to get vaccinated.

The list and addresses of all AVC is available at ncoc.gov.pk.

The vaccination drive for all healthcare workers which include doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and other categories like paramedics and support staff will begin from February 22.

Frontline healthcare workers must be under 60 in order to get the vaccine doses designated for them and If they are above the age of 65, they should follow the process for regular citizens above 65.

The official statement further said the registration for people above 60 will also be opened soon.