Coronavirus vaccine no excuse to stop following safety measures: Dr Faisal Sultan

• Federal government committed to procure an effective coronavirus vaccine
• National effort being made to secure the COVID-19 vaccine
• SAPM Sultan appeals to the masses to follow coronavirus safety measures 

The invention of coronavirus vaccines are no excuse for people to stop following standard operation producers (SOPs) and other safety measures, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said on Wednesday.

The special assistant, addressing a post-meeting press conference, said that a meeting was held where health ministers and representatives from the provinces across Pakistan participated. "They were briefed on the country's virus vaccine strategy."

"Pakistan is committed to attaining the vaccine," he said, adding that a national effort was being made to achieve this goal, while institutions and provincial governments were involved to make it possible.

Read more: Coronavirus cases in Pakistan and abroad on December 16

"The federal government will make it possible for an effective vaccine to be available in the country," he said, adding that several steps were already taken in this regard.

The special assistant said that the government would announce soon which vaccines would be available in Pakistan.

Dr Faisal said that the vaccine would not resolve the issue and that implementation of safety measures was still necessary.

He said Pakistan is recording more new cases, as compared to the past few months, and that the increased pressure is affecting the country's health care system.

Read more: With virus claiming 105 lives, Pakistan surpasses grim milestone of 9,000 COVID-19 deaths

The special assistant said that the best way to fight the pandemic, in the given situation, is to ensure that we follow the standard operation procedures (SOPs) issued by the government to stem the virus's spread.

"It is imperative that we keep following them," he said.

Reminding the people of the safety measures that they need to follow, he said:

• Wear masks
• Avoid crowded places
• Keep your hands clean
• Make sure that rooms are well ventilated
• Maintain distance — six feet at least

Appealing to the Christian community to follow coronavirus safety measures, as Christmas was approaching, he said that guidelines were issued in this regard and that they should ensure their implementation.

A total of 2,731 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 445,977. With 105 new deaths, the country's coronavirus death toll reached 9,010. So far, a total of 388,598 people have recovered from the virus while the active number of cases stands at 48,369.

Read more: Which country stands where in the coronavirus vaccination race?

With 38,028 tests conducted across Pakistan, the positivity rate has reached 7.18%.

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 61 countries. There have been at least 72,224,000 reported infections and 1,627,000 reported deaths caused by the new coronavirus so far.