-Daily cases tumble under 1,000
-Pakistan revises guidelines, allows AstraZeneca shot for under 40
-Abroad travelers can get AstraZeneca jab after showing documents
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: For the first time since February 15, Pakistan has reported less than 1,000 cases in the last 24 hours, data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed.In the last 24 hours, a total of 35,039 tests were conducted across the country out of which 838 people tested positive for the virus, thus putting the coronavirus positivity ratio at 2.39%.
Meanwhile, 59 people succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, the NCOC stated, adding that a total of 2,611 coronavirus patients from across the country are in critical condition.
In the last 24 hours, 1,576 patients recovered from the virus.A province-wise breakdown shows that 344,196 coronavirus cases have so far been reported in Punjab, 328,663 in Sindh, 136,205 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 26,275 in Balochistan, 82,170 in Islamabad, 19,791 in Azad Kashmir, and 5,727 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
At present, there are 40,929 active coronavirus cases in the country. So far, 943,027 tested positive for the virus out of which 880,316 have recovered. The country has reported a total of 21,782 death since the pandemic broke out.
In terms of vaccination, the NCOC said that 20,412 people were fully vaccinated in the last 24 hours, while so far, 3,006,048 people have been fully vaccinated in the country since the vaccination drive began this year.
In the last 24 hours, as per the NCOC, 368,825 people were partially vaccinated, while a total of 5,902,003 have so far been partially vaccinated in the country.
Meanwhile, In a bid to help inoculate people who need to travel abroad for education or jobs, the federal government Tuesday revised guidelines for the AstraZeneca vaccine and allowed citizens who are 18 or older to get the jab.
According to new guidelines issued by the National Ministry of Health, the vaccine shot could be given to the male aged 18 years or above, and the women above 40 years of age.
As per guidelines, people waiting to travel abroad would be given AstraZeneca jab while the government has restricted the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in people below 18 years of age. AstraZeneca vaccine could also be administered to hypertension, sugar and patients with a heart ailment. A person who underwent an organ transplant could be administered the vaccine after three months of the surgery.
AstraZeneca required to be stored at 2 to 8 degree Centigrade temperature. The vaccine will be administered to a person in two doses. The second dose of the vaccine could be administered between four to 12 weeks after the first dose.
Earlier, in May, the Pakistani health authorities had restricted the use of Oxford for people under 40.
Saudi Arabia has approved four Covid-19 vaccines for arrivals wanting to avoid quarantine, namely AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson. It is pertinent to mention here that protests had erupted across the country asking the government to allow the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A good number of overseas Pakistanis hailing from different cities staged a protest outside Islamabad’s F-9 mass vaccination centre on Monday. The protesters demanded of the government to administer the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines to people traveling abroad on a work visa.
Pakistan has primarily used Chinese vaccines – Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac – in its inoculation drive and, till now, only used AstraZeneca for those above 40.
Pakistan has received 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca under the COVAX facility.
As of June 11, 1.3% of Pakistan’s 220 million people had been fully vaccinated and 3.8% had received at least one dose, mostly Sinopharm or Sinovac, official figures show.
