Federal govt decides to lower age bar for walk-in COVID vaccination: sources

LAHORE: The federal government has decided to lower the age bar for walk-in COVID vaccination for elderly people, allowing the 60-year-old people to avail the facility, ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

According to sources having knowledge of the government’s decision, the people aged between 65-year-old and 60-year-old would now be able to avail walk-in facility from April 25.

“The walk-in vaccination for 60-year-old people is already going on in Balochistan,” they said adding that the bar for the facility was set at 65-year-old in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh.

The sources said that the vaccination process in the country began on March 16 and initially the walk-in facility was available for people aged 70-year-old.

“Those eyeing walk-in vaccination do not need to register themselves on the government’s helpline and could directly approach any vaccine centre for their immunization,” the sources said.

It is pertinent to mention here that vaccination for people aged between 50-59 has begun in the country on April 21.

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Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar announced in a tweet earlier that the NCOC decided to start vaccination of people aged from 50 to 59 from April 21, encouraging once again every one to register themselves for the vaccination.

The National Command and Operation Centre started registering citizens above 50 years of age for COVID-19 vaccination from March 30.

“Registration of those who are 50 plus for covid vaccination will be opened on March 30th. Registration of those who are 60 and older has already been open. Encourage everybody who is 50 plus to register when the registration is opened for them on 30th,” Asad Umar had tweeted.