Pakistan is expected to receive 2.8 million does of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the first week of March, following which the next phase of jabs is expected to kick off, reported Dawn. The latest development was announced by Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, during a recent press conference in Islamabad.
On the occasion, Dr Sultan said, “According to our information, 2.8m doses will reach around March 2. This is very good news because we will be able to start the next phase [of the vaccination programme],” also sharing that the number of frontline healthcare workers who have already received the vaccination has crossed 52,000 individuals. Dr Sultan added this should be some kind of consolation for those who are hesitant to get vaccinated because it goes to show how much the health workers trust the vaccine’s efficacy.
Changes in government strategy
Dr Sultan noted that frontline health workers initially had to register themselves first and were then informed which vaccination centre to go to. Now, however, those workers who are below the age of 60, are only required to send in their CNIC (computerised national identity card) number to 1166 and then visit their nearby vaccination centre to get the shot.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) website also has the complete list of vaccination centres on its official website.
Dr Sultan mentioned then registration process for healthcare workers who were not working on the frontline, would commence from February 22. “They will be able to register themselves easily through a website and they can visit any vaccination centre after two to three days and get vaccinated.”
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Talking about the registration process for citizens aged above 65 years, he said they should send their CNIC numbers to 1166 without any dashes or spaces, after which they will receive a reply guiding them to the next step towards vaccination. “We have full expectation that [their vaccination] will start at the beginning of March.”
“I believe it is important to start vaccination from them. If you are over 65, get yourself registered and if you are less than 65, then help [people over that age] with registration.”