Daily Times

Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar announced on Monday that registration for coronavirus vaccination for people aged 65 years and above has now started.

“Pleased to announce that registration for getting COVID-19 vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above,” the minister tweeted. Explaining the registration process, the minister said that one can write down their CNIC number and send a message on 1166.

In his tweet, the minister said that vaccination of those who register in this category will start in March.

On February 3, Pakistan began its vaccination drive which aims to inoculate over one million healthcare workers with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had approved the Chinese state-owned firm’s vaccine for emergency use last month. .

DRAP has so far approved Sinopharm’s vaccine, Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, and the vaccine developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, COVAX has said that 17 million doses of the Astra­Zeneca vaccine would be provided to Pakistan in the first half of 2021. Around 7million will be available by March.

Since the outbreak of the novel virus last year, Pakistan has confirmed 564,077 cases and 12,333deaths. Currently, there are 25,747 active COVID-19 cases in the country. Meanwhile, 525,997 people have also recovered from the virus.

The plan was shared after China pledged a donation of 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese firm Sinopharm.

The country’s vaccination drive began with the frontline healthcare workers being vaccinated first, in February, after the 500,000 doses of Sinopharm arrived from China.

Additonally, Pakistan has also secured 17 million indicative doses of the AstraZeneca, out of which 35-40 per cent or 6 to 6.8 million doses will be available within the first quarter of the current year.

Vaccinating the elderly is a good initiative so as to protect the most vulnerable first. Asad Umar also tweeted the process for registering for the vaccine drive in his tweet. The minister has previously also shown concern regarding COVID in Pakistan.