Registration of elderly for Covid-19 vaccination begins

ISLAMABAD: The government began on Monday Covid-19 vaccination of the country’s senior citizens aged over 65 years, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar announced.

“Pleased to announce that registration for getting [the] covid vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above. Just write down ur CNIC number and send [a] message on 1166,” Umar said in a tweet.

Pleased to announce that registration for getting covid vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above. Just write down ur CNIC number and send message on 1166. Inshallah vaccinations for this age group will start in march

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 15, 2021

“Inshallah vaccinations for this age group will start in March.”

On February 10, Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), tweeted the government will begin the registration process for the vaccination of the elderly people next week.

“All Pakistanis above the age of 65 can start registration for COVID-19 vaccine starting today,” State Minister for Health Dr Faisal Sultan tweeted.

All Pakistanis above the age of 65 can start registration for COVID-19 vaccine starting today. Send an SMS from any mobile phone with your CNIC to 1166 or visit https://t.co/k54c4ijqtL to get registered. Vacc center and date of appt will be communicated once vaccine arrives

— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) February 15, 2021

“Send an SMS from any mobile phone with your CNIC to 1166 or visit http://nims.nadra.gov.pk to get registered. [Vaccine] center and date of appt will be communicated once vaccine arrives.”

The government launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on February 3, with more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers and social workers being covered in the first phase because they run the highest risk of exposure to the contagious disease.

The second phase, per the roll-out plan, will focus exclusively on citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus, and all remaining healthcare workers, while the general public would be accommodated in the third phase.

Pakistan received its first tranche of the Sinopharm jabs, given by China as a “gift”, earlier this month. The shipment marked the first shots to be imported into the country where more than 564,077 cases of the disease have been reported since the outbreak in February last.

In addition, the government is due to receive a further 1.1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by the end of this month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had announced in January.

It emerged Sunday that Chughtai Lab, a private Lahore-based laboratory, will soon receive Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for commercial sale, making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately.

In January, Russia’s Sputnik V became the third, and latest, coronavirus vaccine to receive EUA (emergency use authorisation) after China’s Sinopharm and the one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

Despite concerns over fairness and higher prices, the government last week agreed to allow the commercial import and sale of vaccines without price caps, in contrast to most countries, which are importing and administering vaccines through government channels.

Provincial authorities have designated 189 healthcare facilities in Punjab, 14 in Sindh, 280 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 44 in Balochistan, 14 in Islamabad, 25 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), and 16 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to administer vaccines.

HOW TO GET VACCINATED:

A step-by-step guide of NCOC’s plan to get the coronavirus vaccine is given below:

In the first step, at-risk citizens will send their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) numbers to 1166 through SMS or use National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) website for registration.

After necessary verification, designated AVC (Adult Vaccine Centre) (based on “Present Address” and PIN Code will be sent to the citizen through SMS).

If the designated AVC is outside the current tehsil of the citizen, he/she can change the designated health facility by visiting NIMS web portal or by calling the 1166 helpline within 5 days of receipt of the first SMS.

Upon availability of vaccine at the designated vaccination centre, SMS will be sent to the citizen to obtain an appointment date for vaccine administration.

After successful registration, the citizen will visit AVC on the date of appointment along with the original CNIC and received PIB Code. The vaccination staff will verify the CNIC and PIN code.

After successful verification, the citizen will be vaccinated. Upon vaccine administration, vaccination staff will enter the details in NIMS and a confirmation message will be sent to the citizen through SMS. The citizen will stay in AVC for 30 minutes for the post-inoculation monitoring.

In the last step, a real-time dashboard for the federal, provincial and district health departments will be generated automatically.

In this regard, Dr Faisal said that so far 400,000 health workers have been registered for vaccination.