Pakistan needs to vaccinate 40-50 million people by the end of 2021: SAPM on Health

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan asserts that the government needs to vaccinate 40 to 50 million people by the end of 2021.

The government even has a vaccination awareness campaign coming, he said, adding that the mass campaign is scheduled to commence soon.

In an interview with Aurora, the SAPM on Health talked about how Pakistan handled the pandemic and the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Dr. Faisal feared that despite a vaccine drive, new variants of the virus will remain a threat. However, he was hopeful that the country has seen the worse of the outbreak.

“In my opinion, we may have seen the worst of it, but the next winter will tell the real story.”

Additionally, the SAPM implied that external factors helped deal with the pandemic till a vaccine was available. This includes the fact the population in the country is younger. There were factors like effective communication about the virus. Dr. Faisal said the media got the message across. Everyone had doubts in the beginning, but once the pattern was clear, the disbelief went away.

Aside from the pandemic, Dr. Faisal revealed the current government’s other healthcare goals. These include healthcare delivery, eliminating preventable diseases, malnutrition, access to high-quality pharma, a quality health workforce.

Dr. Faisal revealed how there is a shortage of nurses in Pakistan’s healthcare system, saying, "We need a million nurses."

While the doctors’ market is so saturated that many turn abroad for better prospects, Pakistan isn’t creating enough nurses.