Pakistan opens walk-in COVID-19 vaccination for citizens above 70

Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday opened a walk-in coronavirus vaccination facility for senior citizens above 70 years of age amid the raging third wave of COVID-19 in the country.

National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the organisation leading the national pandemic response, decided to immediately open vaccination for all elderly citizens amid fears of the spread of coronavirus. All people aged 70 years and above, who have registered on the helpline 1166 by sending in their identity card numbers, can now walk into any vaccination centre from March 16 to get vaccinated, the official NCOC statement said.

The citizens only need to carry their identity cards to the designated vaccination centres in their vicinity to get vaccinated, officials said. The facility would be available across Pakistan.

The country initiated the second phase of mass vaccination for elderly citizens on March 10. Pakistan is currently administering the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm that was the first one to be approved for emergency use. Pakistan launched its COVID-19 vaccine drive in early February beginning with the healthcare workers in the first phase after receiving Sinopharm doses from China. The delivery of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that Pakistan secured through the UN-led COVAX initiative has been delayed for now.

Following earlier reports of vaccine hesitancy among the public and the healthcare workers, there has been a slight increase in positive responses with more citizens queuing up outside the vaccination centres to get the jab.

President urges people to wear masks even after vaccination

Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Alvi received Sinopharm jabs on March 15 at a vaccination centre in Islamabad. “I sent my details at 1166 phone service on February 15 and then waited for my turn,” Dr Arif Alvi told reporters, urging senior citizens to get registered and vaccinated. Pakistan government had put in place an efficient and smooth mechanism to vaccinate the health workers and the vulnerable population first, he said.

But getting vaccinated does not mean you should stop wearing mask, he stressed. “We still have to take precautions” like wearing masks, maintaining physical distance in public and follow health guidelines, “to remain safe and to prevent the spread of COVID-19”, he said.

Smart lockdown imposed amid third wave

Several parts of Pakistan are currently under smart lockdown and maximum restrictions have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. After the recent spike, NCOC re-introduced curbs including mandatory mask wearing, restrictions on public life, 50 per cent work-from-home policy and 10pm time limit for commercial activities.

Pakistan recorded 2,511 cases and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours. Currently, there are 23,355 active coronavirus cases in the country. The country has reported a total of 609,964 COVID-19 cases and 13,595 coronavirus-related deaths since February 2020.