National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday outlined the country’s vaccination strategy against Covid-19, revealing an eight-step process starting from registration to inoculation. Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar also shared good news that the vaccination drive will start next week.
Up till now, the NCOC has done remarkable work to contain the spread of Coronavirus. The timely decisions taken at this nerve centre after consultations with the provinces and other stakeholders have paid off. The forum indeed deserves appreciation for not being complacent and coming up with a comprehensive immunization strategy to vaccinate people in a healthy environment and in accordance with health guidelines. As part of the strategy, numerous adult vaccine centres have been established across the country to administer the anti-Covid vaccine to the people. In addition, coordination cells have also been established at the provincial and district levels. Indeed the country has reached a very critical and crucial time as this undoubtedly will be the country’s biggest ever immunization drive where people of all age groups ranging from children to elderly will be vaccinated against the pandemic. Our authorities concerned should not forget the setbacks faced by our immunization campaigns especially that were launched over the years to eradicate polio. Before misleading and propaganda campaigns are started against the vaccination, an awareness campaign on a large scale should immediately be started to build the confidence of the people in the vaccines as well as those administering them. Winning this trust will be the most important component to make the anti-Covid immunization drive successful. Personnel of the armed forces should be involved in the mass campaign as the people trust them more than anybody else. Through the media, the people should also be informed as to how they can get themselves vaccinated in a hassle free manner. Then it must be ensured that the people get the vaccine to their nearest place of residence. If required, the network of vaccine centres should be further expanded. It must be ensured that the vaccine is available in sufficient quantity even if we have to allocate more resources for it.
