Islamabad: The Pakistani government is planning to vaccinate more than 300,000 frontline health care workers within the next three weeks, the prime minister’s special adviser on health said on Monday after a Pakistan military aircraft brought back the country’s first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines produced by China’s Sinopharm.
The official rollout of the vaccine campaign will start this week on Wednesday, February 3, Dr. Faisal Sultan told Arab News.
“The process will take two to three weeks for this phase,” he said.
The South Asian nation of 220 million has already registered over 300,000 frontline health workers through a digital system. They will be vaccinated in the first phase of the vaccine campaign, followed by elderly people, over 65 years of age, who will be vaccinated in the second phase, after which the vaccine would be made available to the public.
The government is expected to receive another tranche of 1.2 million doses that Pakistan has pre-booked from China. Pakistan has also secured 17 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine under a global scheme to deliver coronavirus treatments to developing nations, Sultan said in an official statement last week.
About 6 million doses will arrive in Pakistan in the first quarter of 2021 under the COVAX scheme, with the remaining due by mid-year. The country last year signed up for the vaccine sharing scheme coordinated by the World Health Organization to support lower-income countries.
Pakistan is currently battling its second wave of the virus and recorded 1,615 new infections with 26 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 546,428 with 11,683 deaths since February last year when the first COVID-19 infection was reported in the country.
The health ministry has said all arrangements, including cold chain management, stock and smooth supply of the vaccine, are in place and would be monitored from Islamabad through a National Immunization Management System. The ministry will maintain a record of the number of vaccine doses delivered and utilized in each province and district, as well as the number of people vaccinated.
Pakistan to start vaccine drive on Wednesday, cover 300,000 health workers within three weeks
https://arab.news/yecnr
Pakistan to start vaccine drive on Wednesday, cover 300,000 health workers within three weeks
- Pakistan military aircraft brought back country’s first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines from China on Monday
- Frontline workers to be vaccinated in the first phase starting Feb 3, followed by the elderly and then the general public
Pakistan urges pilgrims to complete Saudi biometrics as Hajj preparations gain pace
- Government warns pilgrims biometric verification is required for Hajj visas
- Step follows tighter oversight after last year’s Hajj travel disruptions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Friday urged aspiring pilgrims to complete mandatory Saudi biometric verification for Hajj visas, as preparations for the 2026 pilgrimage gather pace following stricter oversight of the Hajj process.
The announcement comes only a day after Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf said regulations for private Hajj operators had been tightened, reducing their quota following widespread complaints last year, when tens of thousands of pilgrims were unable to travel under the private Hajj scheme.
“Saudi biometric verification is mandatory for the issuance of Hajj visas,” the Ministry of Religious Affairs said in a statement, urging pilgrims to complete the process promptly to avoid delays.
“Hajj pilgrims should complete their biometric verification at home using the ‘Saudi Visa Bio’ app as soon as possible,” it added.
The statement said the pilgrims who were unable to complete biometric verification through the mobile application should visit designated Saudi Tasheer centers before Feb. 8, adding that details of the centers were available on Pakistan’s official Hajj mobile application.
Pakistan has been steadily implementing digital and procedural requirements for pilgrims ahead of Hajj 2026, including mandatory training sessions, biometric checks and greater use of mobile applications, as part of efforts to reduce mismanagement.
Saudi Arabia has allocated Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2026, with the majority of seats reserved under the government scheme and the remainder allocated to private tour operators.
