Over 20% people aged 50 and above administered at least one vaccine dose: Asad Umar
A view shows vials containing Russian-made vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a demonstration at a regional clinical medical and rehabilitation centre in Tver, Russia May 24, 2021. Vials contain vaccines Gam-COVID-Vac or Sputnik-V developed by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, CoviVac produced by the Chumakov Centre and EpiVacCorona made by Vector State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology. PHOTO: REUTERS
Planning Minister Asad Umar on Sunday said 20.6pc of people above the age of 50 in Pakistan have been administered at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose.
The head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – never centre of the country's pandemic response – elaborated that there are 20.7 million people in the country who are 50 years of age or older, and out of those, 5.6 million people have received the first anti-covid jab.
Read: Govt weighs fresh curbs to stem 4th Covid wave
He urged the people to encourage those in the age group to vaccinate as soon as possible as this "age group is most vulnerable to serious health effects of covid".
The government is considering a slew of measures – including a possible air travel ban on unvaccinated people – in an effort to stem a steep rise in Covid-19 infections as officials confirmed the beginning of the fourth wave of the viral pandemic in the country.
The NCOC said on Friday that the Delta variant is more dangerous than the Indian mutation of the novel coronavirus.
“Cases of Delta variant are surfacing in the country which could possibly trigger the fourth wave,” the NCOC said in its daily update. It called upon the people to follow security protocols against the virus because “any laxity could have serious consequences”.
The NCOC also expedited the vaccination process. For that purpose, the government is procuring vaccine doses from various sources, including the COVAX facility of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Most of the vaccine arrivals this month were from the country’s trusted ally, China, which has already delivered millions of doses of Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac vaccines. Besides, the country has also received three batches of Pfizer, AstraZenaca and Moderna vaccines.
The first batch, Pakistan received through COVAX comprised AstraZeneca vaccine. Later, the second batch, consisting of 106,000 Pfizer vaccine doses reached the country. Recently, 2.5 million Moderna vaccine arrived in the country, donated by the United States under the COVAX facility.