LAHORE: The Punjab government ran out of its stop for the Chinese-made Cansino and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines and has now ceased the administration of these vaccines to citizens.
The supplies of the single-dose Cansino vaccine (Convidecia) have completely run out, whereas some doses of the double-dose Sinovac vaccine (CoronaVac) have been saved for those people who already got their first dose.
Punjab had received 30,000 doses of Convidecia from the National Command and Operation Centre. These were being administered to people above 60 years. Now they are being given the double-dose Sinopharm vaccine.
The Sinopharm shot is the only one people can receive free of cost from the government until more of the other vaccines are procured.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan announced on Thursday that it would issue no-objection certificates within 24 hours permitting private organisations to import COVID-19 vaccines.
Private companies, hospitals and civil society organisations will be facilitated “out of queue” to procure vaccines and speed up vaccination if they fulfill all DRAP requirements.
Current Situation
n the last 24 hours, 140 people lost their lives due to COVID-19 while 5,177 are in critical condition, according to the latest statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Most casualties were seen in the province of Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Furthermore, Pakistan recorded 4,298 new COVID-19 infections.
As of May 7, the total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan stand at 83,699. Yesterday, 44,846 tests were conducted with Sindh conducting 13,821; Punjab: 17,599; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KP): 7,486; Islamabad(ICT): 3,836 Balochistan: 1,192; Gilgit-Baltistan(GB): 308 and Azad Kashmir(AJK): 604.
Out of 1,756 ventilators reserved for COVID-19 patients in the country, 653 ventilators are currently occupied. There is no patient on the ventilator in AJK, GB and Balochistan. So far, Pakistan has seen a total of 747,755 recoveries.
A total of 850,131 cases have been detected so far in the country with AJK reporting 17,660; Balochistan: 23,016; GB: 5,358; ICT: 77,414, KP: 122,520; Punjab: 314,517 and Sindh: 289,646.
Till now, Pakistan has recorded 18,677 deaths. Punjab is on top of the list with 8,891 casualties followed by Sindh: 4,698; KP: 3,537; Islamabad: 702; Balochistan: 243; GB: 107 and AJK: 499.
