Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday reached the milestone of fully vaccinating 70 million of its citizens against coronavirus by the end of 2021.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which oversees the pandemic response in the country, described it as “a significant milestone in Pakistan’s national vaccination programme.”
In a message sent out via social media, Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, said that the massive vaccination drive was made possible as “the federal government procured vaccines worth nearly Rs 250 billion” which were administered free of cost to all citizens equally in each province.
Over one-third of Pakistan’s 220 million population is now fully vaccinated. Nearly 44 per cent or 97 million have received at least one dose, according to NCOC data.
Vaccination rates across Pakistan
The official statistics suggest that Islamabad is winning the country’s vaccination race as 77 per cent of the estimated 2.3 million citizens are fully vaccinated and 92 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The most populous Punjab province has vaccinated 51 per cent of its population. Gilgit-Baltistan has reached 46 per cent vaccination, AJK 45 per cent, Balochistan 42 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 41per cent, and Sindh is at 37 per cent.
Boosters urged amid Omicron threat
Pakistan government has announced the rollout of booster COVID-19 vaccinations for people in their 30s and above from January 1, 2022, to tackle the threat posed by the Omicron variant.
Talking to Gulf News, Islamabad District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia said that “while the vaccination rate is encouraging in Islamabad city, we recommend all eligible residents to get their booster shots.” He added that “booster shots are the best protection” against the new variant of the virus and significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization.
The booster shots maybe become the new requirement for fully vaccinated citizens to ensure protection against the coronavirus.
