The administration of Covid19 vaccine shots has been made mandatory for pilgrims who wish to perform the hajj, on this year sources said. An estimated 200,000 people from Pakistan will be committed to religious engagement this year.
You must receive the dose of Covid-19 before traveling to Saudi Arabia. Sources said pilgrims traveling to the Hajj from all over the world will be vaccinated against coronavirus in their own country. Hajj will be performed in July this year.
The process of receiving applications for the official level hajj program in Pakistan begins this month, while flight operations for this purpose will begin in late May or early June. Authorities will set up vaccination centers in major cities across the country to shoot pilgrims.
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In a country of 220 million people, the pandemic affected more than 500,000 Pakistani people and claimed nearly 12,000 lives. Last week, the first shipment of 500,000 injections of the Covid vaccine, manufactured by China's Sinopharm, reached the federal capital.
A Pakistani Air Force plane brought home the shipment, which Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received from Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong at a ceremony at Nur Khan Air Base. Qureshi thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for helping Pakistan fight the pandemic, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"This [broadcast] is proof of the friendship between China and Pakistan," he said during the handover ceremony. The government started the vaccination campaign by first giving it to primary health workers. In addition to the Chinese vaccine, Pakistan has received 17 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine as part of a global program to offer coronavirus treatments to developing countries.
About six million cans will enter the COVAX program by the end of March, the remainder by mid-year. Last week, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant (SAPM) for health, Dr. Faisal Sultan announced that by the end of this year, 70% of the country's population will receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
الحمد اللہ ہمیں سینوفرم ویکسین کا پہلا بیچ ملا ہے! اس کے لئے انتھک محنت کرنے والے ہر شخص کا شکر گزار ہوں۔ COVID کا مقابلہ کرنے میں NCOC اور صوبوں نے اہم کردار ادا کیا۔ میں اپنے فرنٹ لائن ہیلتھ کیئر ورکرز کو ان کی کاوشوں کے لئے سلام پیش کرتا ہوں۔ویکسین سب سے پہلے انہیں لگے گی۔ pic.twitter.com/zfIdwF1GqN
— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) February 1, 2021
SAPM announced that the first phase vaccination would be administered to approximately 0.5 million health professionals. In the second phase, it will be donated to approximately 9.5 million citizens over 65 years of age.
"In the third phase, the doses will be given to 0.6 million regular health workers and 6.3 million people between the ages of 60 and 65." Dr. Sultan said the correct doses will be available in the coming months, adding that Pakistan is in contact with several countries over the bumps.
SAPM claimed that the Sinopharm vaccine had shown efficacy of 79 to 86 percent, adding that after testing it was approved for use in China, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
