WHO lauds Pakistan for administering 200m Covid jabs

Says this achievement is testament to government’s relentless efforts, perseverance for vaccine administration

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has congratulated Pakistan for administering 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in its fight against the pandemic.

“Heartiest Congratulations to Pakistan,” the world health body’s Pakistan chapter wrote on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.

This achievement is a testament to the government’s relentless efforts and perseverance for vaccine administration, it added.

Heartiest Congratulations to #Pakistan!

Pakistan has administered 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, and this achievement is a testament to Government’s relentless efforts and perseverance for vaccine administration.@nhsrcofficial @GovtofPakistan @fslsltn @DhoIslamabad pic.twitter.com/3aPSTWG5Tu

— WHO Pakistan (@WHOPakistan) February 15, 2022

The felicitation message came the same day the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced easing restrictions in cities with less than 10 per cent positivity in view of improved Covid-19 infection rates.

The improvement in the situation and the steps towards restoring the usual life activities came on the back of a stepped-up vaccination campaign, which crossed another significant milestone of administering 200 million doses.

Also read: NCOC eases restrictions in cities with positivity below 10%

Earlier, NCOC – the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort to contain the spread of the pandemic – said in a statement that the country “achieved a major Covid vaccination milestone as the total vaccine doses administered have surpassed 200 million”.

Health officials said that vaccination of 92.5 million people had been completed, while more than 120 million people had received at least one shot of the vaccine – the 78% of the vaccine-eligible population.

Last month Pakistan saw a very high number of Covid cases amid the fifth wave of the disease stoked by the Omicron variant. However, the cases showed a declining trend with the advent of February.

On Tuesday, the NCOC said that the single day tally of fresh Covid cases fell to 2,597 during the last 24 hours, while the death toll which was over 40 last week, fell to 27. Also the national positivity ratio came down to 5.40%.

The masses have been urged to get themselves vaccinated. “Together, we can turn the tide against Covid19 by getting fully vaccinated,” the NCOC said in a tweet. “It is up to us to beat coronavirus by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask. Remember to get your booster shot six months after your second vaccine dose,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan tweeted separately.