Pakistan: Major gains against COVID-19 as 200m doses administered – Gulf News

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According to the NCOC, with complete vaccination of over 92 million people, 60 per cent of the eligible population of Pakistan stands fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Image Credit: Reuters

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday claimed a milestone against COVID-19 as it reported administering more than 200 million doses of vaccine across the country.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) 200.88 million doses of vaccine had been administered by February 14, which is a landmark achievement. So far, more than 92.565 million people have been completely vaccinated, reveals the NCOC adding, the positivity rate has also dropped from 5.76 per cent a day earlier to 5.62 per cent as 2,662 persons tested positive after 47,307 tests were conducted in last 24 hours.

This is an encouraging sign as the number of recoveries has also gone up steadily and in the last 24 hours, 4,293 persons recovered from coronavirus, the NCOC stats reveal.

After 29 fatalities in the last 24 hours, Pakistan’s COVID-19 death toll reached 29,801 while there are 76,639 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.

PM’s aide calls for booster dose

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Health Dr Faisal Sultan in a video message urged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and if more than six months have passed since their last dose, they should get booster shots as well.

“It is up to us to beat coronavirus by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask,” said Dr Faisal Sultan in a video message broadcast on the official news agency.

60% eligible population vaccinated

According to the NCOC, with complete vaccination of over 92 million people, 60 per cent of the eligible population of Pakistan stands fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Pakistan’s vaccination drive has also been appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s agency’s representative in Pakistan Dr Palitha Mahipala at a media briefing expressed his pleasant surprise that whichever areas of the country he visited and however far they located, he found the uninterrupted vaccination drive.

“I visited Qilla Abdullah (Balochistan), Tharparkar (Sindh), Gilgit Baltistan (Pakistan-China border), KP and Punjab’s remote areas and was amazed to see vaccination centres administering vaccine doses there,” he said. Pakistan’s utilisation of COVID-19 vaccine is above 90 per cent, he further said.

100% capacity at cricket grounds

The NCOC has also allowed the PCB to conduct the current Pakistan Super League PSL Lahore matches with 100 per cent stadium capacity from February 16. Besides, children under-12 years of age (unvaccinated) will also be allowed, says the NCOC notification.

The PCB had requested the NCOC to increase the crowd capacity for the second phase amid a decline in the COVID-19 positivity ratio.

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