Here is 8-step procedure for coronavirus vaccination in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan launched coronavirus vaccination campaign in Pakistan on February 3, days after Pakistan received first batch of vaccine from China.

In the first phase, frontline health workers from both public and private sectors will be given doses of the BBIBP-CorV vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinopharm. It has an efficacy of 79.3%.

The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) has introduced a plan to vaccinate the people under an integrated digital system in order to ensure transparency.  

All details of immunisation drive will be handled through the National Immunisation Management System, which was set up last year by the federal government.

The NCOC also established a National Vaccination Administration and Coordination Cell (NVACC) to coordinate the drive.

Provincial and district vaccination management and coordination units will report to the NVACC.

Adult Vaccine Centres (AVC) have been set up across the country to give shots to people.

Here’s the 8-step procedure for registration and vaccination:

1. You will have to send your CNIC number to the Sehat Tahaffuz helpline 1166 through SMS or the NIMS website
2. The system will verify your address and confirm registration and you will be sent details of your designated AVC along with a unique PIN code. If the designated AVC is outside your current tehsil, you can change it through the NIMS web portal or by calling 1166 helpline within five days of receiving the first SMS
3. Once the vaccine arrives at your centre, you will be contacted for an appointment for vaccination
4. After confirmation and registration, you will have to take your original CNIC and PIN code to the centre on the appointed day
5. Staff at the vaccination centre will verify your CNIC and PIN code
6. After verification, you will receive the COVID-19 vaccine
7. Vaccine staff will enter your details in NIMS and a confirmation message will be sent to you through SMS
8. You will have to remain at the AVC for 30 minutes for post-inoculation monitoring for any adverse effects

Pakistan has so far approved three coronavirus vaccines – Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine, SinoPharm’s vaccine and Russian-developed Sputnik V.