COVID-19 Vaccination in Pakistan

     COVID-19 the most infectious and deadliest disease of human history, which engulfed the entire global economy. The outbreak of the coronavirus has completely led to a global pandemic. Just like other nations of the world, Pakistan has also stood among the most adversely affected nations by the pandemic situation.

     Unlike any other virus, the ever-mutating nature of the coronavirus has made it extremely difficult to be tackled. Scientists and other healthcare workers from all over the world have been working on the vaccination of the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. At last, after few months of untiring efforts, remarkable progress is being made in the development of the vaccination.

     According to World Health Organization (WHO), many different types of coronavirus vaccinations are currently in the test and trial phase. In Pakistan, the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) is working with all the health care institutions at federal and provincial levels and actively responding to the COVID-19outbreak. So far, Pakistan has accepted three vaccines from the world:

·         Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine

·         UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine 

·         China-developed Sinopharm vaccine

     The first batch of vaccines includes 500,000 doses produced by China reached Pakistan on 1^st-February-2021 at the federal capital. The process of vaccination has started on 3^rd February, in the first phase, all the frontline health workers serving in private and public sectors will be vaccinated and the registration process has begun on 10 January 2021. To register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan, send a 13-digit Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) number to 1166 through SMS. Alternatively, you can also visit the National Institute of Management System (NIMS) portal for registration. 

     Besides the Chinese jabs, Pakistan has also been pledged 17 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine under a global scheme to deliver coronavirus treatments to developing nations. About 6 a million doses will arrive by the end of March under the COVAX scheme, with the remainder due by mid-year.

     Furthermore, Pakistan is also planning to develop the vaccine for this deadly virus locally. The clinical testing and experimentation for the local vaccine are currently underway and we hope so that it will be developed soon.