ISLAMABAD: The federal capital Islamabad has become the first city in the country to have at least 50 percent of its eligible population fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This was announced by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar. “Islamabad has become the first city in Pakistan to have at least 50% of its eligible population (15 years & older) fully vaccinated, 71% of Islamabad eligible population has received at least 1 dose,” the planning and development minister said in a tweet.
He stressed the need for ramping up vaccination in other cities so as many people as possible get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the earliest.
Islamabad has become the first city in Pakistan to have at least 50% of its eligible population (15 years & older) fully vaccinated. 71% of Islamabad eligible population has recieved atleast 1 dose. Need to see an acceleration of second dose in other cities
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) September 12, 2021
The NCOC has decided to further lower the Covid vaccination age to 15 years in the country. The government will launch vaccination of children of up to 15 to 18 years of age to expedite efforts to inoculate the general public amid the ongoing fourth wave.
The vaccination drive for the children between 15 to 18 years will begin from September 13 (Monday) and they will be inoculated with the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Earlier, Asad Umar has expressed hope that Pakistan will surpass the coronavirus target. “In the early days of the vaccination campaign we had set a daunting target of vaccinating 7 crore people by the end of this year,” said Umar.
The minister revealed that as many as 50 million citizens have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while more than 20 million have been fully vaccinated against the viral disease.
“Happy to report that 5 crore people have now recieved at least 1 dose. More than 2 crore fully vaccinated. Inshallah will meet & surpass the target,” he added.
It must be mentioned that Pakistan achieved the milestone of vaccinating 50 million people last month. Asad Umar urged citizens vaccinated and if their second dose is due then they can just walk in to any vaccination center after 28 days of the first dose.
