Punjab Minister for Health Dr. Yasmin Rashid says the provincial government has decided to vaccinate 25 to 30pc of its population to resist the spread of the coronavirus. Issuing a warning that the pandemic in South Punjab is gradually increasing, she gave the alarming figure of 23pc infection rate in some areas of the region.
Punjab is currently giving over 100,000 vaccine jabs a day and it would increase this capacity to 216,000 soon after Eidul Fitr with a rise in the number of vaccination centers from the current 146 vaccination centers to 296. This capacity will further be enhanced to vaccinate over 436,000 people per day. Vaccination of some 9,000 frontline policemen has also started.
While speakingat a news conference at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Sunday, Ms Rashid said Punjab had secured an ample stock of vaccine and expecting 250,000 doses supply from Islamabad as its share from the COVAX AstraZeneca. Punjab has also completed its procurement process to purchase vaccines worth Rs1.5bn.
Furthermore, answering a question that she had bashed the World Health Organisation (WHO) for delaying the vaccine in her previous presser and even suggested that there were controversies around AstraZeneca, Dr Rashid said it seemed her complaint had worked and the WHO started supplying vaccine to Pakistan.
She said the WHO had supplied 1.2m doses and was expected to fulfill its commitment of providing 44m doses to Pakistan.
