ISLAMABAD: While the Covid-19 positivity ratio crossed six percent after almost two months, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar has asked those who have not yet vaccinated themselves to avoid going to the Northern Areas.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan, Umar, who is also Federal Minister for Planning and Development, said that caution is needed during the Eid holidays "so that your entertainment does not become the cause of someone's death".
The NCOC chief said that those who did not get vaccinated are seven times more likely to get Covid-19 than those who get both doses. "Please get vaccinated," he appealed.
In a tweet, the minister said, "The data analytics run by the NCOC team shows that comparative data of Pakistani's who have been vaccinated versus those who are not vaccinated shows a marked difference in risk. The unvaccinated Pakistani's are at 7 times higher risk of getting Covid. Please get vaccinated."
According to the NCOC, Pakistan in the past 24 hours, reported 2,327 Covid-19 infections by conducting 37,690 countrywide tests with a positivity ratio of 6.17 percent.
The last time Pakistan crossed the six percent positivity ratio level was almost two months ago on May 22, when the country recorded a positivity ratio of 6.43 percent.
The minister said that between February 3, 2021, when vaccinations began, and July 1, 2017, 17.7 million people received vaccines, with 6.2 million receiving both jabs.
During that time, he said, 490,000 cases of Covid-19 were reported, accounting for 0.3 percent of the country's adult population.
According to him, 0.08 percent of those who received the first dose were infected with the virus, this makes about 9,917 cases.
Whereas, 0.04 percent, or 5,500 people who received the full vaccination, were infected.
Umar explained, this means that one out of every 333 Pakistani citizens was infected, but among those who received the first dose, only one out of 1,250 people was reported positive, while among those who were fully vaccinated, only one out of 2,500 people was reported Covid-19 positive.
He claimed that the data showed that health experts, doctors, and scientists were not expressing their views based on their personal beliefs, but rather on facts and the actual results of vaccinations in Pakistan.
Even among those who had been vaccinated but became infected, he said, the severity of the disease was far lower than among those who had not been vaccinated.
He claimed that the Indian variant had the greatest impact on the entire region, but the risk could be reduced, if the people were vaccinated.
The international community has praised Pakistan's response to the pandemic; therefore, to maintain this positive image, all Pakistanis are urged to get vaccinated and follow pandemic SOPs, particularly during the Eid holidays.
He expressed satisfaction with the country's rising vaccination trend, saying that the number of people receiving vaccines has remained over 500,000 for the past four days.
However, he stated that this was insufficient because the government had sufficient vaccine supplies and that more people should be vaccinated.
He claimed that the data showed that health experts, doctors, and scientists were not expressing their views based on their personal beliefs, but rather on facts and the actual results of vaccinations in Pakistan.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that everyday around 2,500 new cases are being recorded.
He warned that the Delta (Indian) variant of the virus is spreading fast and appealed to the nation to ensure they wear masks in the presence of other people.
According to the NCOC, another 31 people died from coronavirus in the country in the last 24 hours.
The NCOC said that the Covid-19 death toll has risen to 22,720, while the number of affected people has reached 983,719. The number of active cases in the country stands at 43,670.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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