LAHORE: Scores of people Monday took to the Expo Centre in Lahore demanding the provision of AstraZeneca jabs for protection against coronavirus after the administration temporarily halted inoculations due to a shortage.
The people who said they intend to travel abroad forced their way into Expo Hall III to vent their frustration after being denied the jabs since most countries require foreign visitors to be vaccinated for Covid-19 with AstraZeneca, one of the vaccines accepted worldwide.
The protest started after the unavailability of the vaccine. Protesters stormed the site, demanding the administration to provide the jabs dose so that they could travel abroad before the expiry of their visas and tickets.
“We won’t leave until administration starts [the provision of] AstraZeneca vaccine again,” the protesters said.
The administration appealed to protesters to leave the site but they refused. Media reports suggested that the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are being administered as usual.
In Gujranwala, overseas nationals who wanted to travel abroad also protested outside the vaccination centre over the shortage of AstraZeneca stots.
A heavy contingent of police has been deployed to avoid any untoward incident.
