pillionrider
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I think that's fairly normal. Your body is changing. Some people have grown an extra finger. You seem to have gotten bigger nostrils
-
Contact the PP Team
How good has been the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations in Pakistan?
- Thread starter MenInG
- Start date
I think that's fairly normal. Your body is changing. Some people have grown an extra finger. You seem to have gotten bigger nostrils
Arsal_AK
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Not really unless the nasal congestion was due to long covid.
finalfantasy7
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surprised no one mentioned that Pakistan hit over 1 million vaccinations given in a day:
First dose - 879,181
Second dose: 192,991
Total - 1,072,172
Great achievement,
and they have done this again in last 24hrs:
First dose - 937,656
Second dose - 201,750
Total - 1,139,406
First dose - 879,181
Second dose: 192,991
Total - 1,072,172
Great achievement,
and they have done this again in last 24hrs:
First dose - 937,656
Second dose - 201,750
Total - 1,139,406
finalfantasy7
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so the whole total:
Dose 1
26,146,476
Dose 2
6,913,200
Total Doses Administered
33,059,676
Dose 1
26,146,476
Dose 2
6,913,200
Total Doses Administered
33,059,676
Runner Up
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I had nasal congestion problem since last more than ten years.
Great achievement, but it's a matter of maintaining it now. They have to ensure a sufficient supply to keep or increase this number. Not sure how many dose deliveries are in the pipeline. China will likely have less domestic demand soon, so Pakistan can use some of that excess vaccine.
King_Kohli
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Pakistan's low COVID-19 vaccination rate? It is a matter of trust
Around the world, we continue to hear stories of people who refuse to get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19, despite measures taken to demand certificates of vaccination in order to travel, in order to enter restaurants, or to carry out other activities, which we once considered normal.
The problem also continues in Pakistan, which has so far been able to vaccinate barely 2% of its population. And now questions are beginning to arise as to how many of these people are actually vaccinated.
There have been accounts in the media of people entering vaccination centres, collecting the initial forms, filling them in, then bypassing the counter where the jabs are actually delivered into the deltoid muscle, and proceeding simply to the counter which fills out the paperwork required for NADRA certification. This is nothing short of disaster. In the first place, it means we will end up with more unvaccinated people than we know about. And in the second place, it will mean that nations around the world will no longer trust certification issued by Pakistan, no matter how many official stamps and QR codes are affixed atop the document.
These anti-vaccination sentiments in the country are in some ways an extension of trends we have seen before. After all, according to official figures, during each polio vaccination drive, there are some 200,000 children whose parents refuse to allow them to be vaccinated. The phenomenon is especially visible in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but has also spread to major cities, including Karachi. It is not only the illiterate or the poor who follow this line of action; even white-collar workers and others from educated backgrounds have been known to refuse the amber drops, which could prevent polio.
In the same light, the only way to stop the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure maximum vaccination around the world. It is perfectly true that even this will not bring the virus to an end immediately. People will eventually have to learn to live with it, and as health experts are warning, it will become endemic leading to the requirement of a yearly shot as a booster each year, covering new variants which have emerged, and being administered in the same way as the influenza shot that is received by people around the world at the start of the winter or flu season.
While people may think of influenza as nothing more than a bad cold, the fact is that it is an illness that can have serious repercussions. And the influenza jab is widely recommended by doctors, notably for those who are elderly or suffer lung problems of any kind.
The reason for mistrust in the COVID-19 vaccine in our country is of course linked to fake news on the media, notably social media and, to word-of-mouth insistence that people who receive the jab will die within a few years or other such bizarre notions.
These are of course, completely invalid and this has been proved by science. In fact, the decision by people to hold up vaccination, not only in our country, but around the world, is helping give rise to the new variants we seem to be seeing on an extremely regular basis, with the Lambda variant now joining Delta as one of the most feared variations of the original Alpha COVID-19 virus.
Vaccination is essential to create a safer living space for the human race. In our country people do not trust the government. It is one of the reasons why people are reluctant to pay taxes to the government or carry out other official procedures demanded of them.
The official marketing of the COVID-19 vaccine, of course for the right reasons by the NCOC and other members of government, simply makes people suspicious. The link between government and society broke down a long time ago in Pakistan as a result of the mis-governance we have suffered and the frequent accounts we hear of wrongdoing.
We need to address all these matters and ensure a far higher rate of vaccination before we have a situation similar to the situation faced by India and now Indonesia as well as other countries where the pandemic continues to take its hold and, in the process, churn out new variants which are harder to combat.
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. She can be reached on kamilahyat@hotmail.com.
This article originally appeared in the August 12, 2021 edition of daily The News. It can be accessed here.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/364871-pakistans-low-covid-19-vaccination-rate-it-is-a-matter-of-trust
Around the world, we continue to hear stories of people who refuse to get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19, despite measures taken to demand certificates of vaccination in order to travel, in order to enter restaurants, or to carry out other activities, which we once considered normal.
The problem also continues in Pakistan, which has so far been able to vaccinate barely 2% of its population. And now questions are beginning to arise as to how many of these people are actually vaccinated.
There have been accounts in the media of people entering vaccination centres, collecting the initial forms, filling them in, then bypassing the counter where the jabs are actually delivered into the deltoid muscle, and proceeding simply to the counter which fills out the paperwork required for NADRA certification. This is nothing short of disaster. In the first place, it means we will end up with more unvaccinated people than we know about. And in the second place, it will mean that nations around the world will no longer trust certification issued by Pakistan, no matter how many official stamps and QR codes are affixed atop the document.
These anti-vaccination sentiments in the country are in some ways an extension of trends we have seen before. After all, according to official figures, during each polio vaccination drive, there are some 200,000 children whose parents refuse to allow them to be vaccinated. The phenomenon is especially visible in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but has also spread to major cities, including Karachi. It is not only the illiterate or the poor who follow this line of action; even white-collar workers and others from educated backgrounds have been known to refuse the amber drops, which could prevent polio.
In the same light, the only way to stop the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure maximum vaccination around the world. It is perfectly true that even this will not bring the virus to an end immediately. People will eventually have to learn to live with it, and as health experts are warning, it will become endemic leading to the requirement of a yearly shot as a booster each year, covering new variants which have emerged, and being administered in the same way as the influenza shot that is received by people around the world at the start of the winter or flu season.
While people may think of influenza as nothing more than a bad cold, the fact is that it is an illness that can have serious repercussions. And the influenza jab is widely recommended by doctors, notably for those who are elderly or suffer lung problems of any kind.
The reason for mistrust in the COVID-19 vaccine in our country is of course linked to fake news on the media, notably social media and, to word-of-mouth insistence that people who receive the jab will die within a few years or other such bizarre notions.
These are of course, completely invalid and this has been proved by science. In fact, the decision by people to hold up vaccination, not only in our country, but around the world, is helping give rise to the new variants we seem to be seeing on an extremely regular basis, with the Lambda variant now joining Delta as one of the most feared variations of the original Alpha COVID-19 virus.
Vaccination is essential to create a safer living space for the human race. In our country people do not trust the government. It is one of the reasons why people are reluctant to pay taxes to the government or carry out other official procedures demanded of them.
The official marketing of the COVID-19 vaccine, of course for the right reasons by the NCOC and other members of government, simply makes people suspicious. The link between government and society broke down a long time ago in Pakistan as a result of the mis-governance we have suffered and the frequent accounts we hear of wrongdoing.
We need to address all these matters and ensure a far higher rate of vaccination before we have a situation similar to the situation faced by India and now Indonesia as well as other countries where the pandemic continues to take its hold and, in the process, churn out new variants which are harder to combat.
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. She can be reached on kamilahyat@hotmail.com.
This article originally appeared in the August 12, 2021 edition of daily The News. It can be accessed here.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/364871-pakistans-low-covid-19-vaccination-rate-it-is-a-matter-of-trust
This fake vaccination issue is not a Pakistan only problem. That's the problem with some Pakistanis and Pakistani media - they blow too much of this stuff out of proportion. In the US, the only proof of vaccination is a card they give you when you get vaccinated. Those cards are being sold and being given away by snti vaxxers in the health industry. You can get one probably with not much work.
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KARACHI: The frontline healthcare professionals in the war against COVID-19 are in a state of shock as the government had ignored them while conferring civil awards despite their services during the deadly pandemic, The News reported.
Hundreds of doctors, paramedics, nurses and pharmacists sacrificed their lives for others during the COVID-19 pandemic but the names of just only two healthcare professionals were included for the investiture of the ‘civil awards’.
President Dr Arif Alvi announced the Pakistan Civil Awards for 126 people, including foreign nationals, in recognition of their services in different fields of life on August 14, 2021 but ironically, there were only two medical professionals in the list, whose names were forwarded from Sindh.
Pakistan has so far lost 168 healthcare professionals due to COVID-19, including 102 doctors, one medical student, 61 paramedics and four nurses, National Health Services officials said while Pakistan Medical Association believes that the number of fallen healthcare professionals is over 250 in the country.
Dr Shehla Baqi from the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi, and Dr Muhammad Haroon Memon from Badin were the only ‘fortunate’ healthcare professionals from Sindh, whose names were among the Pakistan civil award recipients.
One of the leading healthcare professionals, Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, who was dismayed at ignoring healthcare professionals in awarding Pakistan civil awards, said over 200 healthcare professionals including doctors, paramedics and nurses have died while serving patients but nobody cared to honour their services for the country and the suffering humanity.
Dr Saad, who is already a recipient of Sitara-e-Imtiaz for recognition of his services in medicine, said he was considering to return the civil award back to the President of Pakistan for ignoring the healthcare professionals, who served day and night during the pandemic and saved thousands of lives by risking their lives and that of their families.
“There are scores of deserving doctors, paramedics and nurses who are working tirelessly during the ongoing pandemic, many of them died and now nobody remembers them except their families. And here is our state, which is more concerned to honour people from all walks of life except from medicine and healthcare. This is shameful,” he said.
Another healthcare professional and renowned psychiatrist Prof Iqbal Afridi said the pandemic provided an opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of healthcare workers, whose services to the ailing people required practical steps by the government to improve their working conditions, promotion structure, and retirement plan.
“Last year, the healthcare professionals were ‘saluted’ but this year, the majority of them were ignored while announcing the civil awards. Lack of recognition, financial compensation and accolades has already resulted in most doctors migrating abroad,” he said and called for their due recognition and declaring them ‘national heroes’ along with sportsmen, and artists.
'Serious repercussions'
Eminent transplant surgeon Prof Saeed Akhtar, renowned haematologist and BMT surgeon and known pulmonologist Prof Sohail Akhtar also criticized the authorities for ignoring the healthcare professionals while announcing the Pakistan Civil Awards, saying the discrimination and ignorance would have serious repercussions for the already fragile healthcare system of Pakistan.
When asked why most of the healthcare professionals were ignored while announcing the civil awards, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar told The News that the health ministry makes recommendations for the national awards for healthcare professionals. “They (National Health Services officials) would be able to answer that. The main committee did not turn down any recommendations,” he added.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/365828-pa...govt-ignored-covid-19-heroes-for-civil-awards
Hundreds of doctors, paramedics, nurses and pharmacists sacrificed their lives for others during the COVID-19 pandemic but the names of just only two healthcare professionals were included for the investiture of the ‘civil awards’.
President Dr Arif Alvi announced the Pakistan Civil Awards for 126 people, including foreign nationals, in recognition of their services in different fields of life on August 14, 2021 but ironically, there were only two medical professionals in the list, whose names were forwarded from Sindh.
Pakistan has so far lost 168 healthcare professionals due to COVID-19, including 102 doctors, one medical student, 61 paramedics and four nurses, National Health Services officials said while Pakistan Medical Association believes that the number of fallen healthcare professionals is over 250 in the country.
Dr Shehla Baqi from the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi, and Dr Muhammad Haroon Memon from Badin were the only ‘fortunate’ healthcare professionals from Sindh, whose names were among the Pakistan civil award recipients.
One of the leading healthcare professionals, Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, who was dismayed at ignoring healthcare professionals in awarding Pakistan civil awards, said over 200 healthcare professionals including doctors, paramedics and nurses have died while serving patients but nobody cared to honour their services for the country and the suffering humanity.
Dr Saad, who is already a recipient of Sitara-e-Imtiaz for recognition of his services in medicine, said he was considering to return the civil award back to the President of Pakistan for ignoring the healthcare professionals, who served day and night during the pandemic and saved thousands of lives by risking their lives and that of their families.
“There are scores of deserving doctors, paramedics and nurses who are working tirelessly during the ongoing pandemic, many of them died and now nobody remembers them except their families. And here is our state, which is more concerned to honour people from all walks of life except from medicine and healthcare. This is shameful,” he said.
Another healthcare professional and renowned psychiatrist Prof Iqbal Afridi said the pandemic provided an opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of healthcare workers, whose services to the ailing people required practical steps by the government to improve their working conditions, promotion structure, and retirement plan.
“Last year, the healthcare professionals were ‘saluted’ but this year, the majority of them were ignored while announcing the civil awards. Lack of recognition, financial compensation and accolades has already resulted in most doctors migrating abroad,” he said and called for their due recognition and declaring them ‘national heroes’ along with sportsmen, and artists.
'Serious repercussions'
Eminent transplant surgeon Prof Saeed Akhtar, renowned haematologist and BMT surgeon and known pulmonologist Prof Sohail Akhtar also criticized the authorities for ignoring the healthcare professionals while announcing the Pakistan Civil Awards, saying the discrimination and ignorance would have serious repercussions for the already fragile healthcare system of Pakistan.
When asked why most of the healthcare professionals were ignored while announcing the civil awards, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar told The News that the health ministry makes recommendations for the national awards for healthcare professionals. “They (National Health Services officials) would be able to answer that. The main committee did not turn down any recommendations,” he added.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/365828-pa...govt-ignored-covid-19-heroes-for-civil-awards
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Over 13 million people have been fully vaccinated in Pakistan against Covid - that’s 5.9% of the general population and 10.4% of the adult population
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The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Tuesday that all air passengers, including those on incoming and outgoing international flights, would need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by Sep 30.
In its review of the measures put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in view of the spread of the Delta variant, planning minister Asad Umar, who also heads Pakistan's response to the coronavirus, said incoming international passengers as well as those flying domestically or abroad would not be allowed to avail the facility from Sep 30 unless fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
In its review of the measures put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in view of the spread of the Delta variant, planning minister Asad Umar, who also heads Pakistan's response to the coronavirus, said incoming international passengers as well as those flying domestically or abroad would not be allowed to avail the facility from Sep 30 unless fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
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KingKhanWC
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Lahore's unvaccinated people will be denied petrol from Sept 1
https://www.geo.tv/latest/367322-unvaccinated-people-in-lahore-will-not-get-petrol-from-september-1
This is pathetic and almost tryannical to deny basic amenities to ordinary people.
Has Pakistan offered FREE vaccines to all the population? IF not then , why implement this idiotic strategy.
Imran Khan has been a great PM but this policy is a disgrace.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/367322-unvaccinated-people-in-lahore-will-not-get-petrol-from-september-1
This is pathetic and almost tryannical to deny basic amenities to ordinary people.
Has Pakistan offered FREE vaccines to all the population? IF not then , why implement this idiotic strategy.
Imran Khan has been a great PM but this policy is a disgrace.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 2,233 more COVID-19 infections during the last 24 hours, pushing the nationwide tally of confirmed cases to 1,234,828, according to official figures released Friday morning.
As per the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre, 50 more people died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities from the virus to 27,482.
The country’s COVID-19 positivity rate now stands at 4.23%. Pakistan has been reporting a positivity rate below 5% for the last seven days.
The country's active number of cases fell to 60,952. The active cases have fallen consistently for more than a week. Among the active cases, 4,409 patients are under critical care.
Earlier this week, Pakistan reported the lowest number of single-day infections in the last two months at 1,897 new cases. On the same day, Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity rate also dropped to the lowest figure, 4.10%, since July 11. The country last reported a similar daily case count at 1,841 cases on July 24.
COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 2,396 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 41% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.
Pakistan has administered at least 76,141,484 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 17.6% of the country’s population.
During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 767,771 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 57 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.
As per the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre, 50 more people died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities from the virus to 27,482.
The country’s COVID-19 positivity rate now stands at 4.23%. Pakistan has been reporting a positivity rate below 5% for the last seven days.
The country's active number of cases fell to 60,952. The active cases have fallen consistently for more than a week. Among the active cases, 4,409 patients are under critical care.
Earlier this week, Pakistan reported the lowest number of single-day infections in the last two months at 1,897 new cases. On the same day, Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity rate also dropped to the lowest figure, 4.10%, since July 11. The country last reported a similar daily case count at 1,841 cases on July 24.
COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 2,396 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 41% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.
Pakistan has administered at least 76,141,484 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 17.6% of the country’s population.
During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 767,771 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 57 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.
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"In February this year, Covax, which has pledged free vaccine for 20pc population of Pakistan, had announced that 17.2 million doses would be delivered by the mid of the year but it could not meet the timeline due to supply issues."
Serum Institute of India was supposed to be a major supplier of vaccines to Covax. I wonder if India is moving away from supplying vaccines to other countries through Covax and instead supplying them directly through the Vaccine Maitri initiative.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_Maitri
Serum Institute of India was supposed to be a major supplier of vaccines to Covax. I wonder if India is moving away from supplying vaccines to other countries through Covax and instead supplying them directly through the Vaccine Maitri initiative.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_Maitri
OMB
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NCOC green lights vaccination of children aged 12 and above
Asad Umar says special vaccinations drives to be run at schools for easy access
The government has decided to inoculate children aged 12 years and above against the coronavirus in a bid to build herd immunity against Covid-19.
In a tweet, Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to "start vaccination of all 12 years and older".
Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said the government will send vaccination teams to schools to administer jabs in order to make access to vaccines easier.
Read Covid curbs relaxed in 18 hotspots
A day earlier, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the government had administered vaccines to over 70 million while NADRA had issued 7.5 million vaccination certificates.
In a bid to encourage people to get vaccinated, Rashid had warned of further restrictions on non-vaccinated citizens from October. He had said that several restrictions would be imposed on citizens who failed to receive their second dose of the anti-Covid vaccine by September 30.
He had not specified restrictions planned for such individuals. However, in August, NCOC head Asad Umar had announced that Pakistan Railways would only allow vaccinated individuals to travel by train from October 1.
Similarly, all local and international air travellers will be required to be fully vaccinated by the end of September or they would not be allowed to travel. Meanwhile, from September 30, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and wedding venues will only be accessible to fully vaccinated people.
Fake certificates
As Pakistan steps up drive to vaccinate more and more citizens, it is faced with another challenge -- fake coronavirus certificates. Experts fear that if left unattended, this could be the hole that ultimately sinks the ship of Pakistan’s fight against Covid-19.
The first case of nature came to light on June 14, when dozens of people were found to have acquired fake vaccination cards from the city’s biggest government vaccination facility at the Karachi Expo Centre.
In a bid to stop this practice, the NCOC issued directives to the law enforcement authorities to take action against the people involved in making forged certificates.
A day ago, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested 41 people over the issuance of the fake certificates and registered cases against them.
Read more Pakistan crosses 30 million vaccinations mark, says Umar
The move came after "fake entry" of Covid vaccination was found in the government portal under the name of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who left Pakistan for the United Kingdom in Nov 2019 — months before the first case of the virus was even found in the country.
Subsequently, the Punjab health department suspended medical superintendent Dr Ahmed Nadeem and senior medical officer Dr Munir Ahmad of Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital over the negligence, directing them to submit a report to the department.
According to whistleblowers on microblogging site Twitter, immunisation certificates can be forged for anywhere between Rs2,000 to Rs10,000 at major government hospitals, depending on the value of the vaccine.
Vaccination target
Last month, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid said that Pakistan was on its way to vaccinate almost 80 million of the country against the novel coronavirus till the end of December 2021. “Our target was to vaccinate 70 million Pakistanis by the end of this year that is now increased to 80 million. With the support of people, we will soon achieve this target,” she had said.
In order to meet this target, the government is mostly using Chinese vaccines -- SinoVac, Sinopharm, CanSinoBio -- donated by Beijing.
Last month, Chinese envoy to Pakistan Nong Rong said that China had listed Pakistan as its priority in COVAX -- a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to vaccines.
As a member of COVAX, Pakistan has also received vaccines from the United States as well. The US has donated at least 15 million Pfizer vaccines to the country so far. The last batch of 3.5 million Pfizer vaccines was sent earlier this month.
At the start of this month, Russia sent its first consignment of one million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Pakistan had asked Russia to send 5 million vaccines to the country in June this year.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2322343/ncoc-green-lights-vaccination-of-children-aged-12-and-above?_gl=1*1cdmocs*_ga*YW1wLWVaa0lBOG0wRk1ybGE2QjVVUXd1TUs5X2RoMWxwd2RCMHZFeS1HVnpTSTdlOXdJV19VSmJRbzRROVktUFZYUlI
Asad Umar says special vaccinations drives to be run at schools for easy access
The government has decided to inoculate children aged 12 years and above against the coronavirus in a bid to build herd immunity against Covid-19.
In a tweet, Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to "start vaccination of all 12 years and older".
Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said the government will send vaccination teams to schools to administer jabs in order to make access to vaccines easier.
Read Covid curbs relaxed in 18 hotspots
A day earlier, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the government had administered vaccines to over 70 million while NADRA had issued 7.5 million vaccination certificates.
In a bid to encourage people to get vaccinated, Rashid had warned of further restrictions on non-vaccinated citizens from October. He had said that several restrictions would be imposed on citizens who failed to receive their second dose of the anti-Covid vaccine by September 30.
He had not specified restrictions planned for such individuals. However, in August, NCOC head Asad Umar had announced that Pakistan Railways would only allow vaccinated individuals to travel by train from October 1.
Similarly, all local and international air travellers will be required to be fully vaccinated by the end of September or they would not be allowed to travel. Meanwhile, from September 30, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and wedding venues will only be accessible to fully vaccinated people.
Fake certificates
As Pakistan steps up drive to vaccinate more and more citizens, it is faced with another challenge -- fake coronavirus certificates. Experts fear that if left unattended, this could be the hole that ultimately sinks the ship of Pakistan’s fight against Covid-19.
The first case of nature came to light on June 14, when dozens of people were found to have acquired fake vaccination cards from the city’s biggest government vaccination facility at the Karachi Expo Centre.
In a bid to stop this practice, the NCOC issued directives to the law enforcement authorities to take action against the people involved in making forged certificates.
A day ago, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested 41 people over the issuance of the fake certificates and registered cases against them.
Read more Pakistan crosses 30 million vaccinations mark, says Umar
The move came after "fake entry" of Covid vaccination was found in the government portal under the name of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who left Pakistan for the United Kingdom in Nov 2019 — months before the first case of the virus was even found in the country.
Subsequently, the Punjab health department suspended medical superintendent Dr Ahmed Nadeem and senior medical officer Dr Munir Ahmad of Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital over the negligence, directing them to submit a report to the department.
According to whistleblowers on microblogging site Twitter, immunisation certificates can be forged for anywhere between Rs2,000 to Rs10,000 at major government hospitals, depending on the value of the vaccine.
Vaccination target
Last month, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid said that Pakistan was on its way to vaccinate almost 80 million of the country against the novel coronavirus till the end of December 2021. “Our target was to vaccinate 70 million Pakistanis by the end of this year that is now increased to 80 million. With the support of people, we will soon achieve this target,” she had said.
In order to meet this target, the government is mostly using Chinese vaccines -- SinoVac, Sinopharm, CanSinoBio -- donated by Beijing.
Last month, Chinese envoy to Pakistan Nong Rong said that China had listed Pakistan as its priority in COVAX -- a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to vaccines.
As a member of COVAX, Pakistan has also received vaccines from the United States as well. The US has donated at least 15 million Pfizer vaccines to the country so far. The last batch of 3.5 million Pfizer vaccines was sent earlier this month.
At the start of this month, Russia sent its first consignment of one million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Pakistan had asked Russia to send 5 million vaccines to the country in June this year.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2322343/ncoc-green-lights-vaccination-of-children-aged-12-and-above?_gl=1*1cdmocs*_ga*YW1wLWVaa0lBOG0wRk1ybGE2QjVVUXd1TUs5X2RoMWxwd2RCMHZFeS1HVnpTSTdlOXdJV19VSmJRbzRROVktUFZYUlI
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LAHORE: The World Health Organization (WHO) raised questions on Pakistan’s COVID-19 death toll that laid bare how vastly the country had undercounted victims.
According to a new WHO report, almost three times as many people have died around the world as a result of COVID-19 as the official data show.
The world health body estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic killed around 15 million people worldwide in 2020 and 2021 -- nearly triple the number of deaths officially attributed to the disease. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the figure was eight times as high.
"The full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million)," the UN health agency said.
Reacting to the WHO panel's report, former special assistant to then prime minister on health Dr Faisal Sultan said the WHO data on coronavirus deaths in Pakistan is “not reliable”.
Dr Sultan defended the government’s death reports, saying that studies of the number of graveyard burials in major cities did not reveal large numbers of uncounted victims of the pandemic.
In a statement, he said: "I have to look at the WHO report in detail. We checked the cemetery record to determine the number of deaths from coronavirus. We also checked this record through our own system."
The figures are extremely sensitive due to how they reflect on the handling of the crisis by authorities around the world, with some countries, notably India, already contesting the far higher numbers.
Dr Sultan said: “Our corona death record was accurate but it is not possible to have a 100% correct death toll, it could be 10-30% less but to say it was eight times less is unbelievable.”
The former SAPM said the WHO report was based on hypothetical data which was “not authentic”.
GEO
According to a new WHO report, almost three times as many people have died around the world as a result of COVID-19 as the official data show.
The world health body estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic killed around 15 million people worldwide in 2020 and 2021 -- nearly triple the number of deaths officially attributed to the disease. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the figure was eight times as high.
"The full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 was approximately 14.9 million (range 13.3 million to 16.6 million)," the UN health agency said.
Reacting to the WHO panel's report, former special assistant to then prime minister on health Dr Faisal Sultan said the WHO data on coronavirus deaths in Pakistan is “not reliable”.
Dr Sultan defended the government’s death reports, saying that studies of the number of graveyard burials in major cities did not reveal large numbers of uncounted victims of the pandemic.
In a statement, he said: "I have to look at the WHO report in detail. We checked the cemetery record to determine the number of deaths from coronavirus. We also checked this record through our own system."
The figures are extremely sensitive due to how they reflect on the handling of the crisis by authorities around the world, with some countries, notably India, already contesting the far higher numbers.
Dr Sultan said: “Our corona death record was accurate but it is not possible to have a 100% correct death toll, it could be 10-30% less but to say it was eight times less is unbelievable.”
The former SAPM said the WHO report was based on hypothetical data which was “not authentic”.
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The Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination on Friday clarified that the Covid death count in Pakistan is verifiable and accepted globally.
According to the health ministry spokesperson, multiple checks and balances on the reporting systems are in place and the extra deaths reported in graveyards coincide with the Covid waves that hit Pakistan.
He added that Pakistan’s Covid pandemic response strategy’s core focus is dependent on verifiable data points to implement interventions.
Pakistan’s system of death reporting was meticulously designed with the help of provincial and local authorities and included thousands of reporting entities with built-in mechanisms of cross verifications.
The spokesperson went on to say that all this information was fed into the main dashboard at National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) and every number reported along with supporting data has been backed up with efficient and reliable mechanisms.
He maintained that since the onset of the Covid pandemic, Pakistan has been at the forefront of decision-making using data and analytics.
The spokesperson also highlighted that a reporting mechanism is set in place whereby every Covid related death is reported on a district level, which is then collated at a provincial level by the respective healthcare systems, and finally, a cumulative number is shared on a national level which is reported via official channels.
As a nation with a 97 per cent majority of Muslims, most fatalities are buried and a record is maintained of every burial within a specific graveyard.
The maintenance of burial data – including the date, time, and location – is a standard procedure that all graveyards follow.
He shed light on how a mortality comparison was carried out to effectively check the monthly cumulative deaths recorded in the past three years.
The mortality audit carried out by the NCOC critically looked at the graveyard data of big cities.
He added that there was a rise in deaths corresponding to each wave (which showed an increasing number of Covid cases overall) that hit Pakistan but the cumulative number for the past two years did not witness an exponential increase.
Accurate modelling of infectious diseases requires a thorough understanding of ground facts and merely banking on hardcore stats with unrealistic assumptions could be grossly misleading, he said.
Many developing countries had, therefore, stressed international modelers to work closely with local teams to interpret statistical data in correct perspectives.
Additionally, there were detailed graveyard analyses across major cities that did not show mortality above what was being captured officially. “So while no system of mortality reporting is perfect, in a country like Pakistan with most fatalities being buried, our reporting system was very close to actual numbers,” the spokesperson said, adding that any stark under-reporting of figures, be it new cases of infection, hospital admissions, or death counts would have compromised Pakistan’s track record of a successful Covid response which continues to be lauded across the globe.
In fact, Pakistan’s health secretary has been invited as a keynote speaker on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly later this month to enunciate Pakistan’s successful Covid response and help draw lessons for the future, he added.
Express Tribune
According to the health ministry spokesperson, multiple checks and balances on the reporting systems are in place and the extra deaths reported in graveyards coincide with the Covid waves that hit Pakistan.
He added that Pakistan’s Covid pandemic response strategy’s core focus is dependent on verifiable data points to implement interventions.
Pakistan’s system of death reporting was meticulously designed with the help of provincial and local authorities and included thousands of reporting entities with built-in mechanisms of cross verifications.
The spokesperson went on to say that all this information was fed into the main dashboard at National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) and every number reported along with supporting data has been backed up with efficient and reliable mechanisms.
He maintained that since the onset of the Covid pandemic, Pakistan has been at the forefront of decision-making using data and analytics.
The spokesperson also highlighted that a reporting mechanism is set in place whereby every Covid related death is reported on a district level, which is then collated at a provincial level by the respective healthcare systems, and finally, a cumulative number is shared on a national level which is reported via official channels.
As a nation with a 97 per cent majority of Muslims, most fatalities are buried and a record is maintained of every burial within a specific graveyard.
The maintenance of burial data – including the date, time, and location – is a standard procedure that all graveyards follow.
He shed light on how a mortality comparison was carried out to effectively check the monthly cumulative deaths recorded in the past three years.
The mortality audit carried out by the NCOC critically looked at the graveyard data of big cities.
He added that there was a rise in deaths corresponding to each wave (which showed an increasing number of Covid cases overall) that hit Pakistan but the cumulative number for the past two years did not witness an exponential increase.
Accurate modelling of infectious diseases requires a thorough understanding of ground facts and merely banking on hardcore stats with unrealistic assumptions could be grossly misleading, he said.
Many developing countries had, therefore, stressed international modelers to work closely with local teams to interpret statistical data in correct perspectives.
Additionally, there were detailed graveyard analyses across major cities that did not show mortality above what was being captured officially. “So while no system of mortality reporting is perfect, in a country like Pakistan with most fatalities being buried, our reporting system was very close to actual numbers,” the spokesperson said, adding that any stark under-reporting of figures, be it new cases of infection, hospital admissions, or death counts would have compromised Pakistan’s track record of a successful Covid response which continues to be lauded across the globe.
In fact, Pakistan’s health secretary has been invited as a keynote speaker on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly later this month to enunciate Pakistan’s successful Covid response and help draw lessons for the future, he added.
Express Tribune
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