Slow work

The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is quite dangerous. In Pakistan, the number of Covid-19 deaths has been increasing at an unprecedented pace. Even then, the government hasn’t taken serious steps to speed up the vaccination process. At present, almost every country is taking some steps to ensure that a majority of people get vaccinated against the virus. Pakistan, on the other hand, has not purchased the sufficient number of vaccine doses. The country can fight against the virus by launching a mass vaccination drive on an urgent basis. The country has to ensure that every Pakistani has access to free vaccine doses. The government should take adequate steps to launch the vaccination campaign in villages and other remote areas. And while there is no harm in allowing the private sector to sell the vaccine to people who can afford it, the government should offer free vaccine doses to a majority of Pakistanis who are not financially strong and will not be able to afford the cost of the vaccine.

There have been a few cases where influential people managed to receive the vaccine out of turn. Under such circumstances, the mysterious disappearance of vaccine doses from hospitals doesn’t seem ‘mysterious’. The performance of the government has raised so many questions. Pakistan is reporting an average of over 4,000 new cases per day. The government should speed up its vaccination programme.

Imtiaz Essa Halepoto

Jamshoro