CONTRARY to apprehensions expressed by some circles about slow progress and hiccups in the way of nation-wide vaccination against Covid-19, the country achieved a milestone on Wednesday when it crossed the figure of ten million, with Federal Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar announcing that the authorities aimed to inoculate 70 million people by the end of this year.
Speaking at a ceremony held to mark the deliverance of the 10 millionth dose, Umar said around seven million people had been administered vaccine doses, but the country had a long way to go to meet the target of vaccinating 70 million people.
This is, indeed, a great achievement and the Government leadership, federal and provincial health ministries/departments and the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) deserve appreciation for their hard work in ensuring uninterrupted supply of vaccines and making elaborate arrangements to administer doses to all those visiting different vaccination centres across the country.
The fact that the national positivity ratio has dropped to the lowest (2.54%) during the year and removal of more Corona-related restrictions is yet another manifestation of the Government’s successful comprehensive strategy against the highly contagious virus.
It is also encouraging that more and more people are registering them for vaccination and on the average about three hundred thousand people register themselves for inoculation.
The authorities have augmented supply of vaccines, which is borne out by the fact that from Friday onwards all those above 18 years of age can avail the walk-in vaccination facility.
Some citizens are, however, experiencing difficulty in the registration process as the system is taking too long in issuing the code, which is a must for vaccination.
The problem, which might be due to capacity issue at NADRA, needs to be tackled on a priority basis as teachers and students are unable to get themselves vaccinated.
The NCOC has also made vaccination obligatory for all public and private sector employees by June 30 and plans to offer incentives to various sectors to encourage them for vaccination, which speaks volumes about the confidence of the authorities in meeting the demand for vaccination.
While appreciating the progress so far made, it is hoped that strict vigilance would be maintained especially at airports and land entry points to guard against the spread of any new virus through incoming passengers/visitors.
