Pakistan claims to have ‘successfully’ contained third wave of pandemic
Islamabad: Pakistan has completed administering 10 million (1 crore) anti-coronavirus vaccinations on Wednesday and claimed to have successfully contained the third wave of the pandemic.
Pakistan has been witnessing the third wave of coronavirus which saw a tremendous surge in the number of coronavirus infections across the country, leading to deaths in all age groups.
Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who is also head of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) which has been tackling the pandemic in the country, announced the achievement of 10 million doses of anti-coronavirus vaccine at a special ceremony and said the target was to further vaccinate 70 million citizens.
“Our target is to vaccinate 70 million people by the end of this year,” he said.
Pakistan launched its vaccination drive on February 2 with the frontline health workers and gradually increased to include everyone 18 years and above.
The 10 million doses target was reached as the country recorded as the number of new cases were falling considerably.
The authorities recorded a 2.55 positivity rate with just 1,118 new cases detected in the last 24 hours.
The Ministry of National Health Services reported that the number of confirmed cases on Wednesday reached 936,131 in the country.
At least 77 patients died in the last 24-hours, taking the death toll to 21,453.
As so far 869,691 people have already recovered, the number of active patients was 44,987, the ministry said.
