ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated 88 percent of its eligible population against COVID-19 since it launched the inoculation drive in February 2021, said the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday.
With a population of 220 million, Pakistan reported its first coronavirus case in the last week of February 2020. Since then, the pandemic has infected about 1.6 million people and killed over 30,000.
“94 percent eligible population has received at least 1 vaccine dose, 88 percent population fully vaccinated and 30 percent eligible population has received booster doses,” the NIH said in a Twitter post.
After reporting a significant decline in COVID-19 cases earlier this year, Pakistan did away with almost all coronavirus restrictions.
However, the country witnessed a spike in the viral infections once again in the months of May and June, though the situation largely remained under control.
Health authorities conducted 13,325 coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours, out of which 352 came out positive, taking the total positivity rate to 2.64 percent.
With a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the authorities believe the viral respiratory disease can continue to spread if people do not take sufficient precautionary measures.
