COVID-19 vaccine: Pakistan starts registration for 40-49 age group from April 27

• NCOC chief Asad Umar says walk-in vaccination of citizens 50 plus has started.
• Urges everyone above 40 to register and encourage others to register too for vaccination.
• The government is planning to vaccinate 70 million people by year-end.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani wo fall between the 40-49 age group can now register for the coronavirus vaccine, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar announced on Monday.

The federal minister said that the government has also decided to start walk-in vaccination for all registered citizens of the 50 plus age group.

“In today's NCOC, meeting decided to open up registration of 40 plus age citizens starting tomorrow. Also decision taken to allow walk-in vaccination of all registered citizens of 50 plus age group,” Umar tweeted.

“If you are 40 years or older please register and encourage others to register.”

Pakistan is currently vaccinating people who are 50 plus and healthcare workers with Chinese vaccines.

A digital portal has been launched by the federal government for the registration through which a code is assigned to the person and then they can go to a designated vaccination centre and get a jab.

According to the NCOC, over 1.8 million people have been vaccinated in the country so far.

Target to vaccinate 70m by year-end

Although the government is yet to acquire more vaccines for coronavirus, it is still hoping to vaccinate at least 70 million people by the end of this year, according to a report by The News.

Despite the bottlenecks, Pakistani officials are confident that the daily vaccination may hit 100,000 persons per day soon. They are also expecting that the vaccination will reach 200,000 per day in the coming weeks and months as it is gaining momentum in the country.

The PTI-led government has so far approved $150 million for procurement of vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic and another formal summary will be forwarded to get an approval of $90 million for this purpose obtained from the Islamic Development Bank. In totality, the allocated amount will go up to $240 million to obtain the vaccine that had become scarce in all countries.

Umar told the publication that Pakistan has so far acquired six million vaccine doses.

Umar blamed a lack of availability to procure the vaccine over financial reasons, saying that the money is available. He shared that many Pakistanis had contacted the government to make contributions, but the government is asking them to donate vaccines instead.

“The availability of vaccines had become problematic but we will ensure its availability in our country,” said Umar confidently.