As a manifestation of the efficacy of the government’s strategy to inoculate citizens against coronavirus, Pakistan is now “very close” to achieving its vaccination target.
This was revealed by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who took to Twitter on Sunday to announce that 100 million people across the country are now fully vaccinated.
Umar, who is also the chief of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), announced that a “major milestone” has been reached in the national vaccination drive.
Major milestone reached in national vaccination drive. 100 million Pakistani's are now fully vaccinated. More than 127 million have recieved atleast one dose. We are very close to achieving vaccination of all eligible citizens
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) March 6, 2022
He further stated that more than 127 million Pakistanis had received at least one dose of the anti-Covid jab.
“We are very close to achieving vaccination for all eligible citizens.” he said. Meanwhile, the NCOC in its daily update, stated on Sunday that 755 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total up to 1,514,258.
Currently, 821 patients are on critical care across Pakistan and the Covid positivity ratio is 2 percent. As for the casualties, seven people lost their lives to the virus.
Pakistan’s strategy relies on mass vaccination and preventive measures, which not only helped bring the fifth wave under control, but also enabled the country to safeguard its citizens against further threats posed by the virus.
During the fifth wave, the authorities actively promoted booster shots to strengthen the immune response of citizens against the Omicron variant. As a result, the daily increase in cases dropped below 1,000, which allowed the authorities to ease non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).
Statistics 6 Mar 22:
— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) March 6, 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 37,661
Positive Cases: 755
Positivity %: 2.0%
Deaths :7
Patients on Critical Care: 821
These restrictions were placed at the beginning of the fifth wave to bring the virus under control. Some of these restrictions include banning public gatherings and indoor dining. However, this time around, schools were not shut down, rather some universities and colleges themselves decided to conduct their classes online.
Earlier this week, the central command against the pandemic revealed that 70 percent students between the ages 12 and 17 had been vaccinated against the virus while 86 percent had been given at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine.
This was seen as a milestone in the governmental effort, for it eased fears of schools being shut down if the situation worsened in the future. It is worth noting here that 11.3 million persons fall in this age group.
Pakistan’s vaccination drive has been internationally recognised as well. Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) lauded the government for administering 200 million doses of the vaccine. While offering its “heartiest congratulations”, the global health body remarked that it was a testament to the “relentless efforts” and “perseverance” of the government.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ