Citizens aged 70 and above can get vaccine shots today

ISLAMABAD/Karachi: Effective today (Tuesday), all registered citizens aged 70 years and above can avail walk-in facility for vaccination against Covid-19, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) announced on Monday.

The convenience will be extended nationwide to all citizens falling in the said age bracket, including the residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well as Gilgit-Baltistan. All registered citizens of 70 years and above can walk into any vaccination center from tomorrow onwards for administration of vaccine,” the NCOC informed. The first condition for eligible citizens is to get themselves registered by texting their CNIC number to 1166. Carrying their NIC to the vaccination centre of their choice is the only other requirement. The government has instructed the provinces to make arrangements to facilitate walk-in vaccination for citizens aged 70 and above. The vaccination of citizens falling in the 60-70 year age bracket will continue as scheduled. In a related development, the NCOC has accorded approval for establishment of mass vaccination centres in 16 major cities namely (arranged in alphabetical order), Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Mansehra, Mirpur, Multan, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Quetta.

The decision has been taken to expedite the vaccination process in view of the escalating disease burden, and is inspired by the success of the vaccination centre established at the Lahore Expo Centre. Earlier on, accompanied by the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, President Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Alvi received their first Sinopharm vaccine shots at the Covid Vaccination Centre located in Tarlai. President Alvi pointed out that throughout the world, the elite conveniently violated the queue to achieve self-protection against Covid. Pakistan’s vaccination policy, in contrast, is governed by age. The president appreciated the government’s transparent vaccination registration policy and took pride in having availed the facility on his turn, following the prescribed registration process. He advised the public to exercise caution even after vaccination, urging them to wear facemasks, practice frequent handwashing, and maintain social distancing, now that the third wave of Covid-19 has begun to take its toll.

Meanwhile, the residents of sub-sectors that have been sealed for harbouring maximum Covid cases are facing a great deal of inconvenience in commuting even in their own sector. Rather than merely blocking the entry and exit points to these hotspots, barriers have randomly been erected on roads within the sealed sub-sectors. In I-8/4, for instance, two-way traffic on the double road leading to I-8 Markaz has been blocked, creating needless traffic chaos. The residents are forced to commute through narrow streets in residential areas to be able to reach marketplaces for their grocery shopping and other imminent needs.

Meanwhile, federal health officials said Pakistan was expected to get around two to three million doses of three different vaccines from China and through COVAX facility, adding that these vaccines would be used to vaccinate adult population of the country at these Mass CVCs in different cities of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. “Pakistan is expected to get half a million more doses of Sinopharm vaccine this week while we have ordered for the purchase of 60,000 doses of single-dose Chinese vaccine Cansino Bio, which is also expected to reach Islamabad within this week.