Sindh govt. is ready to administer booster shots to the people free of cost however the province needs at least 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine – Azra Pechuho
Sindh Courier
Karachi
Sindh is faced with shortage of Covid-19 vaccine and it needs at least two million dozes to ensure that everyone in the province gets vaccinated.
This transpired on Monday when Provincial Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho addressed press conference at Sindh Assembly building regarding the new covid-19 variant Omicron.
“Sindh government is ready to administer booster shots to the people free of cost, however to do this the province needs at least 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine,” she told.
“The booster shots will be provided free of cost to the people, however there is not enough stock of the vaccine to deliver this to everyone so the Sindh Government has requested the Federal Government to supply one million doses of Pfizer, 500,000 doses of Astrazeneca and 500,000 doses of Moderna for this purpose,” Ms. Pechuho said.
The minister also stated that children above 12 years of age should be getting the Covid-19 vaccine as well and they will be given Pfizer vaccine.
To a query about bogus vaccination cards, Dr. Azra said that the NIMs system ensures that no vaccine goes unrecorded.
The minister stated that in order to combat this new variant the Federal Government will have to take precautions immediately. She said that rapid antigen tests must be carried out at the airports and all other points of entry into the country.
Dr. Azra said that those people who get infected with Covid despite having received the vaccine will have their genomic profiling done in order to pin down which variant is present in our population and its probability.
Talking about the new variant, the minister said that the virus has mutated showing difference in 30 locations of its anatomy. This means that there could be a difference in its rate of infection and how it affects the human body in comparison to the previous variants. “We have to practice precaution as well as seriousness in order to safeguard ourselves and our society from this potential new threat.”
“Getting vaccinated and wearing masks is one of the more reliable ways to ensure that this infection does not spread,” Sindh Health Minister said.
_______________________
