ISLAMABAD: Sixty percent of Pakistanis said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine if it became available, global leader in market research, Ipsos, said in a survey published this month.
Since the coronavirus first broke out in Pakistan in late February, the country has recorded 443,246 infections, including 2,459 new cases in the last 24 hours, and 8,905 deaths, including 73 in the last 24 hours.
Worryingly, a Gallup Pakistan poll conducted last month showed 37% of Pakistanis would not get a vaccine once one became available. The Ipsos survey said 22% Pakistanis were against vaccines in general.
“To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following: If a vaccine for COVID-19 were available, I would get it,” Ipsos asked in its survey, reporting that 60 percent respondents said they would prefer to be vaccinated.
When asked what best described why they would not prefer to be vaccinated, 34% respondents were worried about side effects, 22% were against vaccines in general, 15% believed a vaccine would not be effective and 23% said they were not at risk of the coronavirus.
The survey also said 50% Pakistanis were unaware of ongoing vaccine trials.
Countering anti-vax sentiments is a worldwide problem, but in Pakistan it is more dangerous than almost anywhere else.
Dozens of people have been killed in attacks on polio vaccination teams over the years, and the fear and mistrust that spawns such violence has made Pakistan one of two countries, including neighboring Afghanistan, where the crippling disease has still to be eradicated.
Several times every year, polio vaccination drives aim to inoculate millions of children, but in some areas they are often met with refusals from parents who believe conspiracy theories about the vaccine.
In more volatile parts of the country, militants have attacked polio immunization teams, notably after a doctor was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign to help the US Central Intelligence Agency track down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.
Yet the dangers of polio have been well known for decades, whereas COVID-19 is a new disease, and authorities have struggled to communicate the urgent need to stamp it out.
Cleric Qibla Ayaz, the head of the Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the government on social and legal issues, told Reuters many of the conspiracy theories about COVID-19 were coming from Western countries, spread by social media.
"For now the majority of scholars have said the vaccine and other treatments are important... but there are always extremists as there are with polio," Ayaz said. "Given the kind of 'Westphobia' we have in Pakistan, it might be better to obtain a vaccine from Russia or China, instead of the US or UK."
60% Pakistanis say would get COVID-19 vaccine if available - global market research firm
https://arab.news/cf5zx
60% Pakistanis say would get COVID-19 vaccine if available - global market research firm
- -Ipsos survey says when asked why people would prefer not to be vaccinated, 34% were worried about side effects and 22% were against vaccines in general
- -Gallup Pakistan poll conducted last month showed 37% of Pakistanis would not get a vaccine once one became available
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
