The daunting challenge can no longer be ignored. The alarm bells were being rung loud and clear for quite some time. But we have moved beyond warnings now as the deadliest disaster is upon us. With dire news coming from the vaccine front, all hopes of the pandemic being vanquished–or at least reduced to a manageable scale– are dissipating fast. A frightening shortage of vaccines has thrown a spanner in the works. Reports are pouring in of a stampede at Lahore’s Expo Center amid reports of counters being closed. A similar shortage persists in Islamabad and Rawalpindi where the number of vaccinations has been reduced by around 40 per cent. It is quite unfortunate that we have to grapple with such slim pickings at a time when our defence was strongest against the virus. After seeing the worst of the third wave, which was widely lamented to head in New Delhi’s dismal direction, the virus positivity rate had dropped below two per cent across Punjab. Lahore’s statistics reeked of greater optimism (just one per cent). Alas! The happiness could not be more short-lived! With vaccination centres said to be closed on Sunday across Sindh, an unmanageable menace is, definitely, dashing our way. Yes, the godsend arrival of 1.55 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China might avert the ongoing catastrophe. But now is not the time to put our feet up. Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid is still holding grounds with the usual all-is-well mantra. However, what to make of the unofficial warnings regarding the province’s vaccine stock dry as a bone since Saturday? The opposition’s campaign against the official negligence in this regard cannot be turned a blind eye to. Going by the buzzing whispers of a failed coordination between Islamabad and Punjab, why isn’t the problem being addressed on a war footing? Except for earnestly awaiting help from our Chinese brethren, there remains no clarity on the plan to plug the huge gap between the demand and supply. For despite an instantaneous shift of priorities in the health sector, we are still a thousand miles away from gaining self-sufficiency. The launch of 120,000 doses of PakVac earlier this month is nothing less than a window for the opportunity, but our biopharmaceutical industry is just a work in progress. Nothing more! Then again, how can Pakistan expect to make a quick recovery to the pre-pandemic days when only 2.9 per cent of its population has been jabbed? Compare that to the US President’s push for an overwhelming 70 per cent or around three-quarters of Britons who have received at least one dose of the vaccine! The situation is just as dire everywhere across the world. A third of the global population was reliant on Covax for uninterrupted supplies. However, a crippling breakdown in India–the biggest manufacturer–as it tried to overcome the unprecedented surge in cases has, indeed, taken the wind out of these countries’ sails. Vaccines are the only way out of our seemingly unending misery. Our lives depend on taking the inoculation efforts up a gear. So does our economy! Let’s just hope the authorities realise this sooner rather than later! *