Pakistan picks up vaccination pace as Covid-19 cases rise

Karachi: Pakistan picked up its pace of vaccination, administering a total of 607,117 doses during the last 24 hours, the highest since it began its immunisation drive earlier year.

The latest data by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) shows that so far, 24,096,587 doses have been administered in Pakistan. Pakistan has been inoculating its population with CanSino, Sinopharm, SinoVac, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

In terms of the pace of vaccination, Pakistan still lags behind having administered over 10 doses per 100 people at a time when the global average has gone up to 48, according to latest available data.

Pakistan has also been witnessing a rising trend in Covid cases with the daily number amounting to over 2,000 for nearly a week. During the last 24 hours, 40,805 tests were conducted across Pakistan, taking the total number of tests conducted to 15,484,282.

Out of these, 2,145 came out positive, taking the national tally to 993,872. Sindh reported the highest number after 1,247 new cases and 17 deaths.

Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir collectively reported 292 Covid-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours.

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Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan reported 224 cases and five deaths, while Punjab confirmed 382 infections and 11 fatalities.

The national positivity ratio stands at 5.25% while there are 49,929 active cases. The virus claimed 37 more lives, taking the death toll to 22,848. Meanwhile, the country recorded 1,029 recoveries. With these new recoveries, the total number has reached 921,095.

As Pakistan celebrates Eid-ul-Azha on July 21 (tomorrow), the government has urged the citizens to observe precautionary measures against Covid-19. The government has also urged people to get themselves vaccinated against the virus.