COVID-19 vaccination drive needs improvement in Karachi, Hyderabad: Asad Umar

• Asad Umar expresses concern over slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination drive in various cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad.
• Commends vaccination progress in Islamabad, Peshawar, Gilgit, Sargodha and other cities.
• "We will remain vulnerable if a large number of people remain unvaccinated," says minister.

ISLAMABAD: Expressing concern over the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination drive in various cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Quetta, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar has said that the district admin and health teams in these cities needed to improve their performance.

Taking to Twitter, Umar commended the vaccination progress in Islamabad, Peshawar, Gilgit, Sargodha and other cities. The federal minister, however, underscored the need for improvement in the vaccination process in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nowshera, Faisalabad, Quetta, Mardan and other cities.

“To ensure there is no 5th wave of COVID-19, we have to meet vaccination targets set,” he added.

The federal minister for planning said that despite a sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases, we will remain vulnerable if a large number of people remain unvaccinated.

Urging the public to get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19, the minister said, “Remember that 2nd dose is vital for protection against covid.”

'Vaccination lowest in Karachi, Hyderabad'

Earlier, on August 3, the federal government had asked the Sindh government to improve its response to coronavirus and ramp up vaccinations as the fourth wave of the pandemic continues to spread.

"The vaccination count is the "lowest in Karachi and Hyderabad," Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had said in a post-cabinet press conference in Islamabad.

"[The] Sindh government needs to look into the mirror first," he had said, reiterating that the federal government can only ask federating units to improve their governance.