Islamabad
The unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic had gripped almost the entire world, including the developed and developing countries alike. Almost every country including Pakistan bore the brunt of this pandemic and tried to cope with the challenge. Pakistan through a highly integrated, unique and effective strategy, effectively coped with the first and second wave of the contagion. Timely measures not only prevented the disease spread successfully but also obtained effective vaccines in a very short period of time.
Prime Minister Imran Khan besides establishing National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) to fight the pandemic but also adopted a strategy to keep the employment and economy going uninterrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enjoying full support of all stakeholders including civil and military leadership, federal health ministry and the provincial governments had strenuously went through the journey of unanimous decision making through detailed and painstaking deliberations, consultations and experts recommendations to entered the important stage of vaccination.
In this regard, it has succeeded in obtaining 4 out of 8 most effective vaccines in the world whereas the COVID-19 cure will arrive in Pakistan in different phases during the ongoing year.
China as a trusted and time tested friend of Pakistan is the only country to donate 500,000 doses of Coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan. The process of administering the donated vaccine under National Vaccine Strategy was simultaneously launched in all federating units by the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baloc-histan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir.
The 20 million doses of the Chinese vaccines SinoPharm and Cansino Bio will reach Pakistan in different phases this year where according to trial three tests’ results the efficacy of the vaccine was recorded 86 percent. However, in order to preserve the SinoPharm vaccine developed by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical company requires a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius.
Prime Minister Imran Khan officially launched the National Covid vaccination campaign in the country urging equitable and just distribution of Coronavirus vaccine among the provinces. “It is very important for health workers to be vaccinated as the biggest threat during the contagion,” the Prime Minister directed.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, said the NCOC has an important role in procuring the vaccine and hoped that the Pakistani nation under the leadership of the Chief Ministers would reap full benefits of this vaccine.—APP
