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Planning minister says government will also commence registration of people over-40 from tomorrow (Tuesday)
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Monday decided to allow walk-in coronavirus vaccinations for all citizens over 50, adding that they will still need to pre-register prior to receiving their inoculations.
“Decision taken to allow walk-in vaccination of all registered citizens of 50 plus age group,” Planning Minister Asad Umar posted on Twitter following a meeting of the body governing the national response to the ongoing pandemic. “In today’s NCOC meeting decided to open up registration of 40 plus age citizens starting tomorrow,” he said. “If you are 40 years or older please register and encourage others to register,” he added.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of a third wave of the coronavirus, with Prime Minister Imran Khan last week warning that the country risked disaster if it did not curb the spread of COVID-19 “within a few days, at most two weeks.”
Islamabad launched the country’s vaccination drive in January by opening up registrations for frontline healthcare workers, who received the first doses of the vaccine in February. In March, the country expanded its vaccination drive to citizens over 65, followed by people over 60 earlier this month.
Earlier this month, the country opened registrations for citizens over 50, with their vaccinations commencing last week. On April 8, Umar told journalists that the government planned to open registration for COVID-19 vaccination for all age groups after Eidul Fitr. He claimed that the country was ramping up its vaccination drive, adding that the government hoped to be able to vaccinate over 125,000 people daily after Eid.
Citizens wishing to get vaccinated have been directed to submit their CNIC number (without spaces) to helpline 1166 via SMS. For people without access to smartphones, pre-registration is available via the NIMS website. Eligible groups without access to any pre-registration services can get registered on-site, but this delays the vaccination process, so the government has urged everyone who can do so to pre-register before seeking vaccinations.