NCOC allows Chinese jabs for teens

Umar says half of all students across country inoculated

ISLAMABAD:

The government allowed Chinese vaccines, Sinopharm and Sinovac, to be administered to children above the age of 12 years, following their approval by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Committee of Health Experts, said a statement issued here on Thursday.

The NCOC said in the statement that more than half of students across the country had been inoculated so far. The NCOC chief, Planning Minister Asad Umar said that Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab had the highest ratio of inoculation among teenagers.

The NCOC, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort against the global pandemic, said Sinopharm and Sinovac had been approved by NCOC committee. “The vaccines will be administered to children above 12 years of age from November 15 onwards,” it said.

Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac have been approved by NCOC Health Expert Committee for administration to children above 12 years of age from 15 November onwards. Now, these vaccines will also be available in addition to already approved Pfizer for children above 12 yrs.

— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) November 11, 2021

So far, the NCOC had been administering Pfizer vaccine to the students of 12-18 years of age. According to the forum, both the Chinese vaccines will now be available in addition to already-approved Pfizer vaccine for the children above 12 years.

Separately, Asad Umar said in a tweet that more than half of the students of up to 18 years age had been inoculated against the Covid-19. He added that the number of vaccinated students had exceeded 5.5 million so far.

“Alhamdulillah more than half the students between the ages of 12 and 18 have been vaccinated with at least one dose,” he said on his official Twitter handle. He added that Gilgit-Baltistan “leads the way with 68% and Punjab is second with 62%”.

Alhamdulillah more than half the students between the ages of 12 and 18 have been vaccinated with at least 1 dose. Total students vaccinated so far exceeds 5.5 million. GB leads the way with 68% and Punjab is second with 62%.

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) November 11, 2021

Meanwhile, the national tally of active Covid-19 active cases reached 23,270 as 637 more people tested positive for the virus, while 316 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours. The NCOC said that the national positivity ratio remained 1.3%.\

Also read: Students below age 18 to get Pfizer shots

The forum said in its daily update that 9 patients died during the last 24 hours, including 8 under treatment in different hospitals, raising the nationwide death toll to 28,575. Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the update said.

There were 1,197 patients admitted to various Covid-dedicated healthcare facilities of the country. The update said that 1,156 infected were under treatment in critical condition, including 126 on ventilators.

As of Thursday, the national caseload of the disease, since the pandemic outbreak in February 2020, rose to 1,278,751. Among them, the NCOC said that 1,226,906 people had fully recovered from the disease, depicting a more than 90% recovery ratio.