Punjab starts COVID-19 booster jabs for people over 18

LAHORE: With the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic intensifying, the Punjab government on Tuesday has decided to lower the age limit for a Covid-19 booster dose.

According to the Punjab health department, citizens aged 18 years and above will be eligible for a booster dose of the vaccine and added that people recovering from the coronavirus can have booster shots after 28 days.

Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sinovac can be availed as booster shots. The DG health Punjab has directed all chief executive officers’ health to ensure the availability of vaccines at the centre.

On Monday, as many as 49 more people were found infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Punjab in the last 24 hours, the provincial health department had said.

37 of the new cases of this variant were reported in Lahore alone, it said. The number of confirmed cases of the new strain in Punjab has jumped to 511.

The positivity rate of Omicron cases has risen to 8.3 per cent in the provincial capital.