Health workers: Sindh govt to start Covid-19 vaccination from Feb 3

KARACHI: Sindh government has announced to start covid-19 vaccination of frontline health workers from coming Wednesday, including doctors, paramedics, laboratory technician and teams deputed to conduct door to door tests in ten severely Covid-19 hit districts of the province.

The vaccination will be started in seven districts of Karachi, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad and Jamshoro. The provincial Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah along with Parliamentary Secretary Health MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro made this announcement in press conference held at Sindh Assembly on Friday.

The information minister stated that China was providing 5 lac doses of Sinopharm vaccine to federal government and Sindh will get 83,359 doses from it. He informed that Sindh government will receive vaccine on Sunday. Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said Health department from its own resources has allocated Rs 1.5 billion for the purchase of different Covid-19 vaccines, besides Sindh government has also allocated appropriate funds for procurement of vaccines but Sindh government required permission for directly procuring the vaccine. The minister told that the chief minister has written a letter to federal government but no reply received yet. He said a private donor group has also committed to provide Astra Zeneca and Pfizer vaccination for 20 percent population of Pakistan. He said on the directives of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuhu were trying hard to procure Covid-19 vaccines so that everyone in the province could be given dose free of cost.

The minister said today in a meeting with World Bank country head on different projects held at the CM House, we requested them to support on vaccine procurement. on the occasion, the Parliamentary Secretary on Health MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro added that they have 170,000 frontline health care workers were registered with them and added that priority will be given to those working in ICU, laboratory technicians, and team members deputed to collect door to door samples.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021