With 108 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine administered, the health authorities in Pakistan are on course for reaching the 60 percent figure nationwide which will allow a lifting of restrictions, or rather non-pharmaceutical interventions. There is much work to be done, with only one city, Mandi Bahauddin, having qualified so far, but the direction seems to be set, with 108 million doses administered so far nationwide. With a population of 200 million, only the administration of 400 million doses would mean that 100 percent of the population would be covered. The present situation is not certain whether all are fresh vaccinations, or whether some are second doses, meaning that persons receiving them are completely vaccinated. One of the most praiseworthy aspects of the vaccination drive, and probably a major factor behind its success, was the ease of vaccination, which the government ensured by such steps as converting various large halls, like expo centres, into vaccination centres, and operating them round the clock.
One of the major achievements of the government was vto ensure that the supply of vaccines did not dry up. Other countries, especially in the Third World, have suffered from vaccine shortages, but Pakistan’s procurement, whether through purchase or through donations, has kept the centres going, and thus the vaccinations.
Apat from the need to keep the drive going, there is also a lesson in all of this for the Punjab government, not just as it goes about playing its role in the covid-19 struggle, but in the struggle against dengue. The dengue epidemic has not been beaten back, and the Punjab government’s hope that the onset of winter would kill off the vector for the infection, has been dashed by the late onset of the cold in the Indus plain. More proactive measures are needed at this juncture, lest this public health crisis become as deadly as covid-19. After all, it doesn’t matter whether someone dies of covid-19 or dengue: in both cases, the person is dead.
