Sindh minister warns health workers of termination if they refuse COVID-19 jab

• Health workers might get terminated if they refuse the coronavirus vaccine jab
• Currently, frontline healthcare workers are being vaccinated across the country, including Sindh 
• However, many health professionals are reluctant to get themselves vaccinated
  

KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho has warned healthcare workers of termination if they refuse to get themselves vaccinated against coronavirus, The News reported Thursday.

The provincial minister said this while presiding over a meeting on Wednesday on the establishment of adult vaccination centres across the province.

“We have started the process of Covid-19 vaccination in Sindh where all healthcare workers are being registered for the vaccination. All those healthcare workers who do not take part in the process of vaccination and get themselves vaccinated would be terminated," she said.

Read more: Pakistan's drug authority approves emergency use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine

She emphasised that healthcare workers not willing to receive the vaccine will receive show-causes notices and won't be allowed to work as they could potentially cause the spread of the disease and further mutations of the virus. 

Many health professionals are showing reluctance to get themselves vaccinated, especially after COVID-19 cases have started declining.

Health risk allowance

To lure a large number of doctors, paramedics and nurses to get themselves inoculated, the Sindh health department has already announced the payment of a health risk allowance to healthcare workers who would get the vaccine jab.

But most frontline workers have been hesitant to get the vaccine dose.

The health minister focused on the needs and requirements of each district in terms of vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers. 

The first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out in every division and district in Sindh, and efforts are underway to start the second dose for those who have received the first one. 

SMS alerts will be sent out to those registered to update them on the availability of the second dose.

AstraZeneca vaccine will be available by early March

The AstraZeneca vaccine will be available by early March, and healthcare workers, as well as members of the public who are above the age of 60, will be notified so that they can register with their CNICs to receive their first doses. 

Read more: Coronavirus: Who will be vaccinated first in Sindh?

It was decided that district health officers will be responsible for monitoring the vaccine doses as well as ensuring that the cold chain of the vaccine is properly maintained.

The meeting issued directives to keep a close eye on adverse effects following immunisation, record all such incidents and immediately report them to the health department.

Due to the rapid need for adaptability in terms of vaccine centres, it was also suggested that both public and private facilities be utilised in order to serve the greatest number of individuals.

The meeting was told that so far around 198,484 healthcare and frontline workers had registered themselves for the vaccination — 111,547 in the public sector and 86,937 in the private sector. The number of frontline workers vaccinated so far is 55,458 across the province.