The world has been living with the Covid-19 pandemic for over 18 months now and countries are in various stages of responding to it. Some have opened up under strict rules such as mask wearing and complete vaccination requirements while some have gone back into lockdown due to an uptick in cases. Pakistan is a unique example of a country that imposed only one complete national lockdown during the first wave followed by several ‘smart lockdowns’ and has still fared reasonably well in terms of lives lost and number of positive cases compared to countries within the region and globally. Currently in its fourth wave that is dominated by the deadlier and stealthier delta variant, cases and deaths have begun to creep up. Daily deaths are between 90 to 100 while the positivity rate has been stubbornly hovering around 6.6 per cent for weeks. While the science behind why Pakistan has had a relatively less lethal experience during the pandemic is unclear, the reason for why the hospitalization rate during the current wave is low is quite apparent: the vaccine. Fortunately, after an abysmal start to the campaign, the vaccination drive has picked up, with the NCOC reporting a record-setting 1.5 million doses administered in a single day. That over 70 percent of these vaccinations were first doses indicates that the government’s recent announcement of punitive measures against unvaccinated people is working. Those without even a single shot will soon be unable to board domestic flights, use public transport, get petrol in some cities nor use the motorway, whereas in Sindh, salaries of government employees are being withheld.
It seems the government has realized that the only way to reach some semblance of normalcy where the economy can become fully functional and the population can feel safer as they get on with their lives, is to vaccinate enough people and reach that crucial herd immunity threshold of 70-80 percent. To get there, even sustaining 1.5 million doses is not enough; so far around 8 percent of the population is fully vaccinated with close to 20 percent having received the first dose. At this pace, it can take up to two years to achieve the necessary numbers. In addition to making certain privileges conditional upon receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, a massive outreach program must be undertaken to combat the plethora of misinformation about the vaccine out there. Covid-19 is here to stay and it is as much the responsibility of the government as is the citizenry to make sure each and every resident of the country gets the shot.
