Pakistan achieves 1m daily vaccination doses' mark for first time

• Pakistan's vaccination drive gains momentum.
• People throng to vaccination centres in Karachi after government's warning that SIMs of unvaccinated individuals will be blocked.
• Sindh Minister Nasir Hussain Shah says province is facing vaccine shortage.

ISLAMABAD: As the fourth wave of COVID-19 worsens, Pakistan  achieved on Monday the 1 million daily doses’ mark, with Islamabad becoming the first city to get 50% of its eligible population vaccinated with at least one dose.

Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar took to Twitter to share details about the vaccination drive being ramped up to curb the COVID-19 spread.

“Happy to report that the target we had set for 1 million vaccinations in a day was crossed yesterday with 10 lakh 72 thousand vaccinations,” he tweeted.

All federating entities, Umar said, contributed, with Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad all administering record numbers of vaccine doses.

“Amazing performance by all involved,” he wrote.

Pakistan has administered 31,929,581 doses so far. Of this, 25,208,663 people have received one dose, while 6,720,918 people have gotten the second dose.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Pakistan is at the 17th position of doses administered among the nations vaccinating their citizens.

Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, meanwhile, shared that the country has crossed the 30 million (cumulative) doses mark.

He said that the last 10 million doses took 16 days, which is eight times faster than what it took to administer the first 10 million.

The federal capital has become the first Pakistani city with a population of one million or more to get 50% of its eligible population vaccinated with at least one dose.

Peshawar and Rawalpindi have inoculated 35% of their population with one dose, Faisalabad 28%, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Sargodha 27%, Karachi 26% and Hyderabad 25%.

Sindh faces vaccine shortage

Sindh Minister for Information Nasir Hussain Shah said that due to a large number of people coming to get the COVID-19 jab, the province is facing a shortage of vaccines.

While talking to Geo Pakistan earlier today, Shah said vaccination centres have been established in localities with Burmi and Bangladeshi population.

He said the Sindh government has ramped up vaccination drives and more drive through vaccination centres are being opened in Karachi.