Punjab Healthcare Commission directs registration of healthcare providers
The Punjab Healthcare Commission has directed private hospitals and clinics treating COVID-19 patients, and labs providing testing and screening services to register their frontline healthcare workers at the earliest in order to be administered coronavirus vaccines on priority basis. The Commission also informed registered private clinicians to contact executive officials of district healthcare authorities in order to be designated frontline healthcare workers.
27,228 Pakistani medics vaccinated so far
27,228 registered frontline healthcare workers across Pakistan have been inoculated against COVID-19 with vaccines developed by the Chinese state-owned Sinopharm. According to data released by the government, Sindh has managed to vaccinate 21,121 medics, accounting for nearly 77 percent of the total number of vaccinated medical professionals. Punjab followed with 4,458 inoculated medics, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 691, the Islamabad Capital Territory with 274, Azad Jammu and Kashmir with 239, Gilgit-Baltistan with 312 and Balochistan with 133.
Due to low turnovers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government has decided to approach the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) to authorise vaccinating secondary healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, the NCOC released a video with statements from vaccinated healthcare professionals testifying that they have not experienced any side-effects, and urging their colleagues to get inoculated as the vaccine was completely safe and effective.
Registration for COVID-19 inoculation next week
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, and NCOC head Asad Umar on Wednesday took to Twitter to announce that registration for citizens aged 65 and above will commence from next week. He further stated that the vaccines will be rolled out in March.
Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan clarified that citizens aged 65 and above will be inoculated with vaccines developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, after a committee of Pakistani experts found that the vaccine was unsuitable for use on the elderly, as well as pregnant and lactating women, and people below the age of 18.
