ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and chief of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar Wednesday warned people at large against fast spread of Omicron variant, asking the unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.
Addressing a press conference here, the planning minister said people should take precautions in the wake of its spread.
“Wearing masks and compliance with SOPs are important, but the most important protection against the virus is vaccination,” said Umar who was flanked by PM’s health aide Dr Faisal Sultan.
According to Umar, the Covid-19 vaccines play a major role against the virus. He said the rate of hospitalisation in the UK and US was lower than in South Africa – where the variant first emerged in November – because of the higher vaccination rate.
In South Africa, within a few weeks, the cases rose from 116 to 25,000, said Umar, adding that along with 3,500pc increase in infections, the hospitalisation rate jumped to 700pc.
In the US, there was 400pc increase in the cases while the hospitalisation rate increased only to 92pc. Similarly, in the UK, there was 134pc increase in hospitalisation rate, whereas the infection rate jumped to 300pc.
The lower rate of hospitalisation in the US and UK pointed towards the efficacy of vaccines against the deadly variant.
In Pakistan, the positivity rate rose from 0.7 to 1.8pc in mere two weeks, he said, adding that after the emergence of Omicron, cases increased threefold.
He said Karachi recorded 940pc increase in corona infections as a result of Omicron whereas Lahore reported 193pc spike in 10-12 days.
Umar warned that the cases will increase further if no precautionary measures were taken. Vaccines are very important to contain the virus, he said while imploring people to get jabs.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Faisal Sultan said vaccinated people, especially the elderly men and women, are less prone to severe illness as per the data compiled by the NCOC.
In order to protect themselves against the virus, the health adviser urged people to get a second dose if they have not. He said people aged 30 and above are also eligible for a booster dose if their second dose was administered at least six months ago.
