Nearly a million people vaccinated against COVID in Punjab

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister (SACM) Punjab Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan announced that the province has so far vaccinated nearly a million people in the province, most by any other province in the country, ARY NEWS reported.

“Punjab has vaccinated 934,000 people,” Firdous Ashiq Awan said in a presser adding that it included more than 186,000 healthcare workers being administered COVID jabs and 1600 elderly people who received their doses at their homes.

This vaccination reflects the commitment of the Punjab government, she said adding that the province was fully implementing upon the NCOC decisions.

The SACM said that the Punjab government was also committed to ensuring the availability of ventilators and oxygen supplies in the provincial hospitals.

She expressed grief over the worsening COVID-19 situation in the neighbouring country and said that Punjab government would also contribute to supplies send to India from Pakistan on a humanitarian basis.

The provincial adviser rejected an impression that Patwari system is being revived in the province and said that it was mere propaganda against the government as they wanted to bring a system based on merit and transparency.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government on April 06 said that 20 percent population of the country would be vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 2021.

The federal government shared the details of the vaccination process in a written form with the Sindh High Court (SHC), saying that they have earmarked an amount of US$150 million for the vaccination process.

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“From a period of June to December 2021, 20 percent of the population will be vaccinated,” the reply before the SHC stated, further saying that they have so far received 2.56 million doses of Covid vaccine, while 8.5 million more doses would be received in April and May this year.

The federal government further told that they have signed agreements for vaccine availability with the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). “So far 800,000 people have received the Covid jabs,” it said.