No evidence new COVID strain present in Pakistan, says health SAPM Dr Sultan

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said Thursday there was no evidence of new Covid-19 strain SARS-COV-II incidence in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

Responding to claims attributed to Dr Atta-ur-Rehman who heads the prime minister’s task-force on science and technology, SAPM Sultan said Dr Rehman did not support his claims with evidence.

He said the medical sector is now replete with charlatans and quacks who believe in sham practices rather than scientific evidence.

The SAPM noted that the health department is searching for the evidence of whether the new strain has indeed landed in Pakistan.

There’s nothing we have to claim when we will get rid of this virus but with passing time it can be estimated that virus will go away. By the end of year 2021 or even some more time, he said.

On the vaccine procurement, the health SAPM said the country was striving for more than one kind of vaccines to end the pandemic curse in Pakistan.

READ: ‘Pakistan writes letter to Gavi for supply of COVID-19 vaccine’

In a separate development today, health ministry sources told ARY News that Pakistan wrote a letter to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for a provision of COVID-19 vaccine free of cost as well as on concessional price to the country.

The sources at the Ministry of National Health Services have disclosed that Pakistan has requested to Gavi, to supply the coronavirus vaccine free of cost for 20 percent of its population.

The vaccine alliance has also been requested for supply of coronavirus vaccine on concessional rate for other 20 pct population of the country.