Pakistan rolls out Covid booster shots for people aged 30 amid Omicron spread

ISLAMABAD – Covid booster shots are available to people aged 30 and above from today as the country’s nerve center on virus said people who got both doses are eligible for the jabs.

Reports in local media said booster jabs will be administered free of cost and Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Pfizer will be given as booster shots.

Earlier, officials approved the jabs for those above 50 years, health workers, and immuno-compromised persons in wake of the new and more contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The booster shots may become the new condition for fully vaccinated persons to ensure protection against the deadly disease.

NCOC chief Asad Umar on Sunday warned that there’s clear evidence of the beginning of the 5th wave of coronavirus infections in the South Asian country saying most of the cases of the new variant are surfacing in the country’s largest metropolis Karachi.

Clear signs of fifth Covid wave starting in Pakistan as Omicron spreads, warns Asad Umar

Omicron, which first surfaced in South Africa, spreads four times faster than the Delta variant which overwhelmed the health system in parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Pakistan reported 700 new cases in a day, the highest since October 2021 while the positivity rate has risen to 1.55 percent.

Pakistan records uptick in Covid cases with 708 new infections

Pakistan has so far administered 156,623,021 doses of the coronavirus vaccines with nearly 70 million Pakistanis fully vaccinated while 96 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

 

More from this category

Advertisment

Advertisment

Follow us on Facebook

Search