M WAQAR..... "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --Albert Einstein !!! NEWS,ARTICLES,EDITORIALS,MUSIC... Ze chi pe mayeen yum da agha pukhtunistan de.....(Liberal,Progressive,Secular World.)''Secularism is not against religion; it is the message of humanity.'' تل ده وی پثتونستآن
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
COVID: What's behind Pakistan's low vaccination rate?
Experts have said that negative publicity combined with a shortage of vaccines are keeping people from getting inoculated. The country has vaccinated just 0.8% of its total population.
As other South Asian countries roll out their vaccine programs, critics have said that Pakistan's vaccination drive is moving along at a much slower rate.
As of May 6, Pakistan had vaccinated 3.32 million people, or just 0.8% of its population of 216 million. The percentage of vaccinations per 100 people also stands at just 1.53%, against the global average of 16.44%.
Both the federal and provincial governments have set up hundreds of vaccination centers. However, experts say that a combination of limited vaccine availability and widespread hesitancy due to negative publicity have contributed to the low number of inoculations relative to the population.
More than 860,000 infections have been reported in the country since the start of the pandemic, while nearly 19,000 people have died.
Vaccination 'could take a decade'
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro of the Pakistan Medical Association believes it could take up to a decade to inoculate every citizen if the country continues its vaccination drive at the current pace. Even health care workers are still waiting to be vaccinated, Shoro told DW. Citizens, he added, have also expressed some hesitancy due to propaganda against the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian, South African and UK variants could quickly plunge the country into a deeper health crisis, he said.
Dr. Ashraf Nizami, a Lahore-based medical expert, said that the government did not do enough to counter the negative media that is attracting the attention of millions on social media. Both Nizami and Shoro believe that rumors about side effects of the vaccines, especially regarding the AstraZeneca inoculation, are contributing to widespread hesitancy.
Muhammad Iqbal Khan Afridi, a parliamentarian from the ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf party, echoed those beliefs. Out of 35 family members, he said he was the only one to get the vaccination so far. Afridi added that influential clerics are also using mosques to spread negative messages about the vaccine.
A number of prominent clerics and personalities, including a famous defense analyst, have voiced vehement opposition to the vaccine, coming up with conspiracy theories and calling on citizens not to get vaccinated.
Such messages are not new in the South Asian country, where clerics and extremists have openly opposed the polio vaccine, keeping Pakistan on the list of just a few nations where the disease still exists. Several attacks against those issuing polio vaccines have also been reported in previous years.
Low availability, difficult registration
Dr. Abdur Rashid of the Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan believes that the slow rollout is primarily due to a shortage of available vaccines. "Countries all over the world are scrambling to get vaccines. We were lucky to have China provide us with more than 1.5 million. We are trying to get vaccines from wherever we can," Rashid told DW.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior government official also blamed the slow pace on the shortage of vaccines. "We are trying to get as many vaccines as possible and might get 18.7 million doses by June," he told DW.
Sindh province's health minister, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, said that the registration system is also partially to blame for the pace. "The portal launched by the federal government is slow, so people find it difficult to register. However, the Sindh government is asking people to just walk into their nearest vaccine centers if they are of eligible age," Pechuho told DW.
Others, however, contest the claim that the vaccination rate is too slow. Dr. Ikram Ullah Khan, an official from the northwestern city of Peshawar, told DW that around 65,000 out of 75,000 total health care workers have been vaccinated in the city.
The rest would be inoculated soon, he said, adding that the province has already vaccinated more than 450,000 people and plans to give shots to over 10 million people by December this year.
Pechuho believes that the heart-wrenching scenes of relatives and loved ones dying in India have also made a deep impact on people's impression of the vaccine in Pakistan, and have encouraged more people to register.
Vaccine registration on the rise
On May 4, Asad Umar, Pakistan's federal minister of planning, development and special initiatives, announced that more than 164,000 people had been vaccinated in a single day, and around 200,000 people the following day. Additionally, he said, the pace of registration had also picked up.
Meanwhile in Sindh, authorities have launched a center that could be used to vaccinate 30,000 people a day. "We are setting up more such centers and will ask people over the age of 18 to just walk in," Pechuho told DW. "A mobile service is also vaccinating those who are bedridden and people with disabilities."
Additionally, the government of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, is setting up new centers to offer the vaccine to around 80,000 people per day.
Rashid believes that Pakistan will solve its vaccination issue. "We are seeking cooperation with China, which has agreed to get vaccines filled and packaged in Pakistan," he said, adding that the Drugs Regulatory Authority is allowing another Chinese company to carry out clinical trials of a different vaccine which would consist of three doses.
"With all of this, we will not have a supply problem and will have enough vaccines to vaccinate all Pakistanis," he said.
دورہ سعودی عرب سے وزیراعظم نے زکوۃ اور فطرے کی مد میں چاولوں کے 19 ہزار تھیلوں کو حاصل کرنے کے علاوہ کیا کامیابی حاصل کی؟ چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری
کراچی/اسلام آباد(—–) پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے عمران خان پر سخت تنقید کرتے ہوئے وزیراعظم کو عوام دشمن قرار دے دیا، میڈیا سیل بلاول ہاؤس سے جاری اپنے ایک بیان میں چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے سلیکٹڈ وزیراعظم سے سوال کرتے ہوئے دریافت کیا کہ دورہ سعودی عرب سے عمران خان نے زکوۃ اور فطرے کی مد میں چاولوں کے 19 ہزار تھیلوں کو حاصل کرنے کے علاوہ کیا کامیابی حاصل کی؟
انہوں نے مطالبہ کیا کہ وزیراعظم کے دورہ سعودی عرب کے اخراجات کا زکوۃ کی مد میں حاصل ہونے والے چاولوں کے تھیلوں کی قیمت سے موازنہ کیا جائے، اس موقع پر پی پی پی چیئرمین نے دعا کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ عمران خان کی 22 سالہ جدوجہد اگر ایک ایٹمی ملک کو سعودی بادشاہ کے زکوۃ کے چاول کے لائق بنانا کیلئے تھی تو خدا کسی کو ایسی جدوجہد کی توفیق نہ دے،
انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا کہ مرغی 400 روپے کلو سے زائد کرکے عمرے کے لئے سعودی عرب جانے والے عمران خان سے عوام حساب لیں گے، اس موقع پر چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے عمران خان کو مخاطب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ وزیراعظم صاحب! نوٹس لینے اور انکوائری رپورٹوں کے جھانسے دے کر مہنگائی پر قابو پانے کے آپ کے دعوے بے نقاب ہوچکے ہیں، نتھیا گلی میں عید کی چھٹیاں منانے والے وزیراعظم کو علم ہی نہیں کہ وہ ملک کے گلی کوچوں میں تبدیلی کے سونامی سے قیامت برپا کرچکے ہیں، انہوں نے سوال اٹھایا کہ تنخواہ دار تو کچھ گزارا کرسکتے ہیں مگر عمران خان نے لاک ڈاؤن کے دوران عید میں دیہاڑی دار مزدوروں کے گزارے کیلئے کیا پالیسی بنائی ہے؟ چیئرمین پی پی پی کا کہنا تھا کہ عمران خان غریبوں پر رحم کریں، صرف ایک سال میں بیکری اشیا کی قیمتوں میں 19 فیصد اضافہ ہوچکا ہے، پی ٹی آئی حکومت کے پاس ذخیرہ اندوزوں کو قابو کرنے کیلئے کوئی پالیسی ہی نہیں ہے کہ مزید مہنگائی سے تدارک کیلئے سرکاری قیمتوں کے ہی نفاذ کو یقینی بناسکے-
Imran Khan’s 25-year struggle made Pakistan a beggars’ land, says PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the enemy of the people of Pakistan is nobody else than the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi.
In a statement issued from the Media Cell Bilawal House, he said that the selected PM achieved nothing except 19,000 bags of rice in charity from Saudi Arabia in the form of Fitra and Zakat. “The price of rice bags got in charity is comparatively cheaper then the expenses accrued on the tour to the kingdom by Imran Khan along with a couple of dozen of friends and ministers,” he added.
The PPP Chairman said that the nation has finally found that puppet Prime Minister’s 25-year long struggle was to render nuclear power, Pakistan, a beggar country and hence it is prayed that such a shameful struggle would have not existed. “The entire struggle was for just 19,000 bags of rice in charity,” he lamented.
While addressing the PM Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, the Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the selected PM has fully been exposed in his deceptive actions on controlling the price-hike and taking notes on it. “Illegitimate Prime Minister who is enjoying his Eid vacations in Nathia Galli barely knows how his Tsunami has wreaked havoc on the masses,” he added.
He questioned the PM as to what he has so far done for the daily-wagers who can’t make a living during complete lockdown as compared to those salaried classes of people that might cop up with the existing situation at least.
The PPP Chairman deplored the PM’s indifference and asked him to have mercy on the poor. The sheer 19 percent hike in the prices of bakery products has been recorded. “Unfortunately, the incumbent PTI-led Federal government does not have the capability or policy for controlling the hoardings and profiteering and hence the Federal government should at least enforce the government rates of commodities in letter and spirit,” he concluded.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24787/