Walk-in vaccination for citizens aged 30, above to begin tomorrow

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has announced opening walk-in vaccinations for citizens aged 30 years and above from tomorrow (Saturday), as well as for teachers aged 18 and above.

In a message on his official Twitter handle, NCOC chief Asad Umar informed that the decision to allow vaccinations for citizens aged 30 and above was taken at a meetinf of the NCOC

He urged all 30+ people who have registered for the vaccination to visit any vaccination centre and get inoculated.

As per the NCOC, the total number of people to have been fully vaccinated in Pakistan is 1,513,144.

Vaccination for teachers

In a separate tweet, the NCOC informed that walk-in vaccinations had also been opened for teachers aged 18 and above.

"To ensure safe environment for education and conduct of exams, walk-in vaccination for teachers above 18 years of age is opened," the NCOC tweeted. 

Cases reported in 24 hrs

Pakistan reported 2,482 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 913,784. The country's death toll climbed to 20,607 after 67 more people succumbed to the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, 2,822 patients recovered from the deadly disease during the day taking total recoveries to 834,566.

According to the NCOC, the total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be 58,611.

Two days ago, the NCOC chief announced opening Covid-19 vaccine registration for citizens aged 19 years and above.

The minister termed the start of the vaccination drive for the age group as marking the opening of inoculation for the entire population.

Locally made vaccine

Earlier on May 24, in a major achievement in its fight against the novel coronavirus, Pakistan announced that it has developed a homemade vaccine — PakVac — with the help of China's Cansino Bio after rigorous quality control checks.

The step is aimed at significantly reducing Pakistan’s dependence on other countries for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Read Educators told to get anti-Covid jabs

The country started its vaccination campaign in February with doses donated by the government of China. The campaign started with frontline healthcare workers and then inoculation of senior citizens in the second phase.

"Congratulations to the NIH (National Institute of Health) Pak team and its leadership for successful fill/finish (from concentrate) of the Cansino vaccine with the help of Cansino Bio Inc. China," Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan wrote on his official Twitter handle.

He said that the vaccine has passed rigorous internal quality assurance testing, considering it an important step to help the vaccine supply line.

An official from the Ministry of National Health Services has said that due to the agreement on technology transfer, the NIH would be able to produce three million doses per month.