ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) today (Thursday) opened a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination facility for people above 18-years-old — however, only under certain circumstances.
As per details, if people above 18 years fall under the categories mentioned below, they can simply walk into any coronavirus vaccination centre, show a valid visa, and get vaccinated. The categories are: Pakistanis working abroad on a work visa; Students studying abroad; Seafarers.
According to a notification, the decision was taken as several countries around the world, incorporations, various employers, universities, shipping companies have made vaccination mandatory. Â
The notification stated that the vaccine aspirants will have to carry their valid passport, visa or iqama to the vaccination centre, adding that once the vaccine is administered, a certificate for it will be issued on NADRA’s website.
Teachers vaccination
Meanwhile, the federal government has also decided to vaccinate all teachers of the country by June 5. “The federal government has decided to support the education sector through targeted vaccination of its teaching and support staff,” a spokesperson said.
The official said that the government has also made it mandatory for the examination and invigilation staff to get themselves vaccinated if they wish to take part in the upcoming board exams.
The education sector is one of the worst affected by the coronavirus. The government, at multiple times, has opened the education sector but it has been forced to shut down it due to the rising number of cases.
Vaccination in Pakistan
On May 16, Pakistan had started registering people who are 30 years and above for coronavirus vaccinations, while registration for people falling in the 40-49 age group began on May 3.
Pakistan has begun the vaccination drive in February and has inoculated more than 4.7 million people, with 211,986 jabs being administered in the last 24 hours.
A digital portal has been launched by the federal government for registrations through which a code is assigned to a person.
The citizens can then go to a designated vaccination centre and get a jab. People can also message their CNIC number on 1166 and get themselves registered for the vaccine.
According to NCOC, AstraZeneca would be administered to people above 40-years, while people above 18-years will be inoculated with Sinopharm, Cansino, and Sinovac. The duration between the two doses is 12 weeks for AstraZeneca, 3 weeks for Sinopharm, and 4 weeks for Sinovac.
