Pakistan to issue COVID-19 vaccination certificates to travellers: health official

• Nausheen Hamid says citizens will be able to download certificates via the health ministry's website and also receive them from NADRA.
• Parliamentary secretary urged all citizens who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to get vaccinated and not worry about side effects.
• Hamid says Pakistan is importing China's CanSino COVID-19 vaccine in bulk and will package three million doses locally.

ISLAMABAD: To facilitate travellers, Pakistan will issue coronavirus vaccination certificates to people who have completed their doses of the vaccine, said Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid on Saturday.

Hamid, in an interview with a private news channel, said that the citizens will be able to download the certificates via the health ministry's website and can also receive them from NADRA mega centres.

"Citizens who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Pakistan can now receive a vaccination certificate that shows their immunization status," the PTI MNA told the channel adding that a COVID-19 immunisation certificate portal has already been launched countrywide.

Read more: Pakistan to require coronavirus vaccination proof from travelers upon arrival

Speaking about the ongoing vaccination drive, the parliamentary secretary said Pakistan is importing China's CanSino COVID-19 vaccine in bulk so that it could package three million doses locally.

"The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilised and packed in Pakistan. Production of vaccine would start under NIH's trained staff," said Hamid.

She shared that the government has procured special equipment for this purpose and is training officials to take part in the process.

Read more: Here's a list of coronavirus vaccination centres across Pakistan

She urged all citizens who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to get vaccinated and not worry about side effects.

She warned that the government is taking strict notices of the relaxed attitude of the administration and police towards enforcement of the COVID-19 SOPs in the markets, shopping malls and plazas to prevent a resurgence of the deadly virus which has played havoc all over the world.