The coronavirus is evolving very fast and the consequences will be adverse if people are not vaccinated on time. Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences said this at a press conference on Saturday. Dr Iqbal said like any other virus, COVID-19 tends to evolve with time and is evolving at an alarming speed. “There have been 132 mutations in the virus so far,” he said. “Of them, 32 mutations are directly related to infectivity.” Mutations are the changes that occur in a virus when it tries to adapt to a new environment. “It is very important to monitor genomic variations,” he said. “The ICCBS at Karachi University is Pakistan’s leading genomic laboratory where we are studying these variations.” The ICCBS, in collaboration with the Sindh government, is collecting samples from Lahore, Quetta, Karachi, and other cities for the research. Dr Iqbal warned that if people are not vaccinated on time, the coronavirus will mutate to the point that the vaccine will have no effect on it. Dr Pechuhoemphasised the need for vaccination and said the vaccines cannot be imported until the federal government approves. “Unfortunately, Pakistan is the last country that has yet to order vaccines,” she said. “Procuring vaccines is the federal government’s responsibility. If they can’t do it, they should allow the provincial government to procure vaccines and start administering them.” She added that 70% to 80% of Pakistan’s population needs to be vaccinated.
