Tag: COVID vaccine

  • Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has finalized the COVID-19 vaccination strategy as the country expects the first batch of a Chinese vaccine by January 31.

    The government has approved three COVID-19 vaccines including Russia’s Sputnik-V, China’s Sinopharm and UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca so far.

    Here is a step-by-step guide to get coronavirus vaccine:

    Step 1: Citizens including frontline healthcare workers will send CNIC number to 1166 through SMS or use NIMS website for registration.

    Step 2: After necessary verification, designated AVC (Adult Vaccine Centre) (based on “Present Address” and PIN Code will be sent to the citizen through SMS)

    Step 3: If the designated AVC is outside the current tehsil of the citizen, he/ she can change the designated health facility by visiting NIMS web portal or by calling 1166 helpline within 5 days of receipt of the first SMS.

    Step 4: Upon availability of vaccine at the Designated Vaccination Centre, SMS will be sent to the citizen to intimate appointment date for vaccine administration.

    Step 5: After successful registration, the citizen will visit AVC on date of appointment along with original CNIC and received PIB Code (mandatory).

    Step 6: Vaccination staff will verify the CNIC and PIN code.

    Step 7: After successful verification, the citizen will be vaccinated. Upon vaccine administration, vaccination staff will enter the details in NIMS and confirmation message will be sent to the citizen through SMS. Citizen will stay in AVC for 30 min for the post-inoculation monitoring.

    Step 8: Real-time dashboard for the federal, provincial and district health department will be generated automatically.

  • Govt announces free vaccine for all citizens

    Govt announces free vaccine for all citizens

    The federal government has announced free coronavirus vaccine for all Pakistanis, saying the government will inoculate health workers and elderly people in the first phase.

    Dr Faisal Sultan, prime Minister’s aide on health, said that the government is eyeing procurement of at least 20 million vaccine doses in the first stage; however, only 1 million doses will be procured by March this year.

    He further said that the registration process for the vaccination is underway and the government would soon begin the drive once the vaccine doses arrive from China.

    Reports say China will provide 0.5 million vaccines by the end of this month free of cost, while more vaccines from China will arrive in Islamabad next month.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also talked about the procurement from the United Kingdom. He said the government was in talks with the UK to procure the vaccine developed by the British pharmaceutical company.

    So far, three firms, British firm Oxford-AstraZeneca, Chinese firm Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics, have asked Pakistan to buy their vaccine. Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sinopharm are already registered with Pakistan whereas CanSino is conducting phase-III trials in the country.

    Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had expressed serious concerns over the government’s decision to ask provinces and the private sector to import the coronavirus vaccine.

    As per the details, with the Cabinet Committee on Procurement of COVID-19 Vaccine briefing Prime Minister Imran Khan on efforts being made to engage more pharmaceutical companies for procurement, HRCP had said that the government’s decision in this regard was not the right step.

    It may be noted that amid reports of a delay in the procurement of vaccine, some journalists claimed that the government was in no hurry to order the coronavirus vaccine as most of the senior government members had already been vaccinated against the deadly disease.

  • Moderna says possible allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine under investigation

    Moderna says possible allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine under investigation

    Moderna Inc said on Tuesday it had received a report from California’s health department that several people at a center in San Diego were treated for possible allergic reactions to its COVID-19 vaccine from a particular batch.

    The company’s response comes after California’s top epidemiologist on Sunday issued a statement recommending providers to pause vaccination from a specific batch due to possible allergic reactions that are under examination.

    “A higher-than-usual number of possible allergic reactions were reported with a specific lot of Moderna vaccine administered at one community vaccination clinic. Fewer than 10 individuals required medical attention over the span of 24 hours,” the epidemiologist said in a statement.

    The vaccine maker said it was unaware of comparable cases of adverse events from other vaccination centers which may have administered vaccines from the same lot or from other lots of its vaccine.

    A total of 307,300 doses from the lot remain in storage, vaccine said, of the total 1,272,200 doses that were produced in the batch.

    It was working closely with US health regulators to understand the cases and whether pausing the use of the lot was warranted.

    Nearly a million doses from the lot have already been distributed to about 1,700 vaccination sites in 37 states, said Moderna.

  • Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema Khan has received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the US.

    Taking to Instagram, Reema shared a video of herself getting the first shot. When asked that how is she feeling, Reema replied: “I’m fine.”

    “Finally got the first COVID-19 vaccine dose,” she captioned the post.

    Earlier, the film star also shared a video in which she said that she is going to get her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and prayed that the vaccine is available in Pakistan soon.

    “This is very important,” she said.

    In the video, she also urged her followers to get vaccinated, not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well.

    Meanwhile, Imran Abbas lauded Reema for getting the vaccine, calling her a “pioneer”.

    Reema lives in Washington DC with her husband Dr Tariq Shahab and son Ali Shahab. Due to coronavirus lockdown, Reema and her son were stuck in Pakistan. As soon as flight operations resumed, the two flew back to the USA in August.

    According to Reuters, the first vaccine was administered in the United States in mid-December. Since then till the filing of this report, nearly 12.3 million doses have been given, out of 31.2 million doses distributed. The total includes 1.6 million people who have received both doses.

  • Vaccine procurement woes

    Vaccine procurement woes

    We thought the year 2021 will be a year of hope after last year’s pandemic outbreak. This year will indeed be a year when a vaccine is rolled out around the world but there is a catch. According to the People’s Vaccine Alliance – a coalition including Oxfam, Amnesty International and Global Justice Now – just one in 10 people in dozens of poor countries will be able to get vaccinated against the coronavirus because wealthy countries have hoarded more doses than they need.

    The Alliance said that the rich nations have bought more than 50 per cent of the total stock of the world’s most promising vaccines, despite being home to just 14 per cent of the global population. According to the Duke Global Health Innovation Centre, the current models predict that there will not be enough vaccines to cover the world’s population until 2023 or 2024. This is quite worrying. Pakistan, too, has yet to procure the vaccines.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan told Dawn that Pakistan’s target is to procure the vaccine in the first quarter of the current year, and “we are confident of doing so. But it is quite difficult to say on which date we will acquire the vaccine”. Reports indicate that apart from Chinese vaccines and the Oxford vaccine, Pakistan will also be relying on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX initiative, which insures “rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level”. Some government officials say that Pakistan did not have enough resources to place orders initially for vaccines. It is understandable given that Pakistan’s economy is already struggling.

    The lesson to learn from this pandemic is that countries like Pakistan must invest in science, technology and medical/health research. If we do this, we would be able to work on our own vaccines and manufacture them in the future. Healthcare is one of the top priorities of the current government. The government must step up and invest in research related to healthcare so that it helps Pakistan in the future. Coronavirus may have been a once-in-a-century pandemic but there will be new health emergencies that we could face in the future. Thus, it is important to invest heavily in research because the future is all about scientific research and development.

  • Govt sets up first COVID-19 vaccine centre in Islamabad

    Govt sets up first COVID-19 vaccine centre in Islamabad

    The government has established the first COVID-19 vaccination centre in Taralai area of the federal capital.

    According to details, citizens can register themselves for the vaccine using the helpline 1166. The government has installed a special chiller at the centre so that the vaccine remains safe and lasts long.

    The federal health ministry has also set up a training centre for the vaccinators at the site.

    The centre was set up a day after Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid said that Pakistan is expected to get the first COVID-19 vaccine batch by the end of January.

    According to Radio Pakistan, Dr Hamid said that the government was “urgently” drafting a database of all public and private medical workers to get them vaccinated in the first phase.

    However, it has not yet revealed which vaccine it is and from which country Pakistan would procure it.

    A week earlier, Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan would purchase 1.2 million doses of virus vaccine from China’s Sinopharm.

    Last month, China had approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by an associate of the state-backed pharmaceutical giant.

  • Pakistan govt coordinating with manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccine

    Pakistan govt coordinating with manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccine

    The federal government has informed the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) that it is coordinating with leading manufacturers of COVID-19  vaccines, including those from China. 

    Officials said that they are reviewing developments frequently including data from phase three of the COVID-19 vaccine trials.

    The NCOC was further informed that the steps being taken will conclude to a final decision about vaccine availability in Pakistan. 

    As per reports, Pakistan signed up for the United Nation’s COVAX Facility, a global initiative intended at equitable and unbiased access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. 

    There are also various local and China-made vaccine trials being conducting across the country. The human trials of a vaccine being developed by Chinese Company CanSino Biologics Inc started on September 22 and has over 13,000 volunteers across Pakistan. 

    In November, Federal Minister for Planning and Development and the NCOC chief Asad Umar said that the federal cabinet has approved procurement of the vaccines that are expected to reach sometime between January and March in 2021.

    Pakistan has reported 462,814 cases so far.

  • Joe Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine on live television

    Joe Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine on live television

    US President-elect Joe Biden received a COVID-19 vaccine live on television to enhance Americans’ confidence in the jabs.

    The 78-year-old incoming president got the Pfizer vaccine at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. His wife Jill got the shot earlier, the presidential transition team said.

    Biden told Americans “there s nothing to worry about” when they get vaccinated and that in the meantime, they should follow all the SOPs  and “listen to the experts.”

    https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1341120867938545665?s=20

    He and the future first lady were the latest high-profile political figures who publicly joined the first wave of vaccinations that is expected to stop the current pandemic.

    Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband will be vaccinated next week.

    Previously Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) also shared her experience of getting vaccinated on social media.

    Meanwhile, the serving vice president, Mike Pence, and his wife got vaccinations last week. Trump, however, has yet to take part in the drive.

  • Pakistanis prefer China’s COVID-19 vaccine over US, UK and Russia: Survey

    Pakistanis prefer China’s COVID-19 vaccine over US, UK and Russia: Survey

    A survey done by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) has revealed that majority of the respondents would prefer a China-made coronavirus vaccine over Pakistan, United States, Russia and others. 

    According to details, 1,500 participated in the survey between December 2 and 14 this year. It found that 35% of the respondents preferred China’s vaccine while 14% backed Pakistan and 9% chose the US. A government-approved vaccine got the green-stamp of 15% of the respondents while 16% did not give any answer.

    The majority of respondents in the survey believe the virus to be a reality, while 25% said it doesn’t exist and termed it a global conspiracy.

    Most of the participants said they would take the vaccine. Five in 10 said they would be willing to be administered the vaccine. Most of the respondents mentioned different conspiracy theories about the corona vaccine behind the reason for not going for the vaccine. In a previous survey, 67 percent of respondents were willing to administer the vaccine.

  • Teachers should receive vaccine priority: UNICEF

    Teachers should receive vaccine priority: UNICEF

    The head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has said that teachers should be among those given priority access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

    “The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on children’s education around the globe. Vaccinating teachers is a critical step towards putting it back on track,” Unicef chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

    Teachers should be “prioritised to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, once frontline health personnel and high-risk populations are vaccinated,” she said.

    “This will help protect teachers from the virus, allow them to teach in person and ultimately keep schools open.”

    According to UNICEF, at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic at the end of April, “school closures disturbed the learning of almost 90% of students worldwide.”

    Assuming that schools are not the main driver of community transmission, Unicef said in its statement that unfortunately, classes currently remain closed for “nearly one in five schoolchildren globally — or 320 million children.”

    We must “do everything in our power to safeguard the future of the next generation. This begins by safeguarding those responsible for opening that future up for them,” Fore said.

    “The consequences of extended, missed or impaired education are steep, especially for the most marginalized. The longer children remain out of school, the less likely they are to return, and the more difficult it is for their parents to resume work,” she said.