Thirty percent of the population in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been vaccinated against coronavirus and the vaccine jabs will be given to 10 million more people in the next two months.
“We’ve vaccinated 7.3 million people, who make around 30 percent of the targeted population, against Covid-19 and will take the target to 40 percent by August 31 through 750 inoculation centres and around 30 mobile vans. We are vaccinating 200,000 people daily and will administer the vaccine to an estimated 10 million people in the next two months,” Health Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra said at a press conference in Peshawar.
Accompanied by the spokesman for the government, Kamran Khan Bangash, the minister said 76 percent of the people registered for vaccination had been vaccinated since the start of the inoculation drive.
He said the majority of the vaccinated people were safe from the infection and only two percent of such people were infected with the virus after their inoculation.
Jhagra appreciated the administrations and health officials of Chitral region for administering both the doses of the vaccine to over 65 percent and 40 percent population, respectively.
He said the Pakistan Army was being engaged to ensure the people’s adherence to the standard operating procedure to stem the spread of Covid-19 as the fourth wave of the virus was dangerous due to the faster spread compared with the past.
The minister said vaccination rates were increasing across the province except for a few districts.
He said 32,000 people were vaccinated in Peshawar only in one day on Friday.
“Immunisation provides up to 98 percent protection against coronavirus and therefore, all people should receive the vaccine shots without delay,” he said.
Jhagra said the pace of vaccination was satisfactory in Kurram, Orakzai, Charsadda, Abbottabad and Mansehra districts.
Bangash said he had been tasked by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan with ensuring better public awareness of coronavirus vaccination.
He said the markets would remain closed for two days a week, while indoor and outdoor wedding functions weren’t allowed.
The chief minister’s aide said the government was taking more and more steps to make the people follow precautions against Covid-19.
He said the government would act against the officials for negligence in vaccination duties and reward those with good performance.
Bangash said the government was focusing on the non-pharmaceutical interventions along with mass vaccination to achieve the anti-coronavirus targets.
