Omicron threat: Sindh allows booster shots

Individuals fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can get free jabs, says health secretary

KARACHI:

As the world governments including Pakistan rush to contain Omicron, a new heavily mutated Covid-19 strain, the government of Sindh on Sunday allowed the administration of Pfizer booster shot aimed at curtailing the spread of the new strain.

Sindh Health Secretary Zulfiqar Ali Shah said that a decision in this regard has been taken by the provincial government and a notification will be issued soon, Express News reported.

He said that all fully vaccinated individuals can avail the facility which will be provided free-of-cost by the Sindh government, adding that the decision was taken amid fears of a new Covid-19 wave in the province.

Zulfiqar said that currently, Pfizer vaccine is only available at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Dow University of Health Sciences' (DUHS) Ojha campus. However, he added, efforts were being made to make booster shots available in other health facilities of the province as well.

The variant, now known as Omicron, has cast doubt on global efforts to fight the pandemic because of fears that it is highly infectious, forcing countries to reimpose measures many had hoped were a thing of the past. Scientists are racing to determine the threat posed by the heavily mutated strain - particularly whether it can evade existing vaccines.

Several countries have also announced plans to restrict travel from southern Africa, where it was first detected. On Saturday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) banned the entry of travellers from South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana and Hong Kong

. Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, confirmed the restrictions on travel from six South African countries and Hong Kong, said stressed that the emergence of the new variant further underscored the urgency to vaccinate all eligible citizens.

"Based on the emergence of the new Covid variant, notification has been issued to restrict travel from 6 South African countries and Hong Kong," Umar said in a tweet.

 "The emergence of new variant makes it even more urgent to vaccinate all eligible citizens 12 years and older," he added. Meanwhile, global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.

Hours after Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighbouring countries and asked travellers returning from there to quarantine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) cautioned against hasty measures.

Covid situation

Fortunately no death was reported due to coronavirus on Sunday, however, 37 new cases emerged when 3,081 tests were conducted. According to a statement issued from CM House on Sunday, 3,081 samples were tested which detected 37 cases that constituted 1.2 per cent current detection rate. Currently 6,378 patients were under treatment, of them 6,162 were in home isolation, 14 at isolation centers and 202 at different hospitals

. Condition of 197 patients was stated to be critical, including 16 shifted to ventilators.

 Out of 37 new cases, 35 have been detected from Karachi. Sharing vaccination data, the statement said that 23,935,812 vaccines have been administered up to November 26. At least 74,143 people were inoculated during the last 24 hours, it said.

 So far, total 24,009,955 vaccines have administered which constituted 44.67 per cent of the vaccine eligible population.