LAHORE: Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary, retired Capt Usman Younis has rejected news on social media that elderly citizens could walk into Lahore’s Expo Centre to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 without a registration.
Responding to the mews, Secretary retired Capt Usman Younis tweeted on Sunday that “while it is true that we don’t return people and we also provide walk-in inoculation service if one spouse is scheduled & the other isn’t, we process people as per the schedule and if everyone starts turning up on their own, it will delay the ones in line. Please wait for the message.”
Younis stressed that the vaccine would be administered only to registered persons after they received the code through SMS, and after the verification of their code at the vaccination center.
“Vaccination on the basis of the pin code through proper registration will save both time and resources,” the health secretary said. He urged citizens not to pay heed to “rumors spreading about the vaccine” and arrive at vaccination centers with their pin codes.
While it is true that we don’t return people and we also provide walk in if one spouse is scheduled & the other isn’t. We process people as per schedule and if everyone starts turning up on their own, it will delay the ones in line. Please wait for the message.
— Muhammad Usman Younis (@CaptainUsman) March 14, 2021
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s focal person on digital media Dr Arslan Khalid had termed the viral message “fake”. “There is absolutely no reality to it and please don’t forward this fake message,” he tweeted.
A fake message is circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp that anyone over 60, can walk in with an ID card and get vaccinated at expo Center Lahore without waiting for the SMS code. This is absolutely no reality to it and please dont forward this Fake message.#FakeNews
— Dr Arslan Khalid (@arslankhalid_m) March 13, 2021
Government Officials stressed that registered citizens must wait to receive a pin code via SMS before proceeding to their assigned vaccination centre. The confusion was caused by a message that was widely shared on social media on Saturday.
The news led many citizens to believe they or their elderly family members could get vaccinated at the Expo Centre quickly, as the third wave of the COVID19 gains a foothold in the country.
Pakistan had rolled out vaccination for people aged 60 years or older. The text quoted staff at Expo Centre Lahore as saying that anyone over 60 can walk in with an ID card and get vaccinated without waiting for the SMS code.
It is worth mentioning here Punjab health officials on Sunday reported more than 1,600 coronavirus cases for the first time since June 2020, with the third wave of the virus intensifying in the country.
Statistics from the government’s COVID-19 portal showed that 1,653 new infections were detected in the province during the last 24 hours, marking the fifth straight day Punjab recorded more than 1,000 cases.
The provincial authorities have imposed a lockdown in seven high-burdened cities, restricting the movement of the people to their homes, while all commercial activities, establishments, markets and areas throughout the province of Punjab shall be closed by 6:00 pm.
