ISLAMABAD: Almost a year after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, a countrywide anti-Covid-19 vaccination drive formally started on Wednesday.
The campaign was launched simultaneously in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.
Also Read: PM Imran kicks off Pakistan’s coronavirus vaccination drive
In Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah kicked off the province’s inoculation drive at a ceremony held at the Ojha Campus of the Dow University of Health Sciences where a number of frontline warriors were vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Karachi: (February 3rd, 2020) The Chief Minister @MuradAliShahPPP stats #Covid19 #Sinofarm #Vaccine #drive in #Sindh today at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Hospital Ojha Campus, Karachi. pic.twitter.com/LhBSpVnsIs
— CMHouseSindh (@SindhCMHouse) February 3, 2021
An inauguration ceremony also took place in Peshawar where Chief Minister Mahmood Khan launched the campaign. In Balochistan, healthcare workers were administered first doses of the China-made vaccine in the presence of Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan.
–@IMMahmoodKhan inaugurates the Vaccination Drive in KP hosting a group of healthworkers as the 1st receivers.With 32 heroes dedicating their lives for the cause,16k vaccinations will be used to defend the frontline heroes.Thanks to China & @ImranKhanPTI #CovidVaccineForPakistan pic.twitter.com/tiqJctqh8Y
— Kamran Bangash 🇵🇰 (@kamrankbangash) February 3, 2021
Also Read: Over 0.5m health workers registered for COVID-19 vaccination
Healthcare workers were also administered first shots of the Sinopharm vaccine at a special ceremony at the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in Islamabad.
پاکستان کی تمام اکائیاں ایک ہی وقت پر کرونا ویکسینیشن شروع کر رہے ہیں. ایک جھنڈا، ایک، ترانہ، ایک قوم. ہر زبان بولنے والا، ہر عقیدہ رکھنے والا شہری یکساں حقوق رکھتا ہے. جب بھی ہم اس طرح متحد ہوتے ہیں، کامیاب ہوتے ہیں. NCOC کی ٹیم کو اس مہم کی تیاری اور انتظام پر خصوصی مبارکباد pic.twitter.com/rO6WkBhGQL
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 3, 2021
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said health workers are the country’s real heroes in the fight against the pandemic. “This is the reason that we decided to administer the vaccine to the health workers in the first phase,” he added.
Also Read: Pakistan to likely get 17 million AstraZeneca vaccines by mid ’21, Umar says
The minister lauded China for gifting 0.5 million doses of the vaccine, saying China is our true friend that has always stood by us in difficult times.
It is the because of the government’s effective strategy and the cooperation of the provinces and people that the country managed to control the spread of the pandemic, he pointed out.
