Covid-19: ‘Complete eradication possible after 75pc of population vaccinated’

LAHORE: The Vice-Chancellor of University of Health Sciences (UHS) Prof Javed Akram said on Thursday that the goal of complete eradication of coronavirus cannot be achieved unless the country’s 75 percent population is vaccinated.

“Our target in Pakistan should be to vaccinate 15 to 20 million people,” he said. “Developed countries should provide vaccines to poor and developing nations on a priority basis,” he added.

He was addressing the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UHS and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) on Thursday regarding the follow-up stage of Phase-III trial of Chinese Covid- 19 vaccine.

Prof Javed Akram maintained that five billion people would have to be vaccinated for the complete eradication of the epidemic all over the world.

“Corona vaccine was being tested on humans in Pakistan, which proved that there can be world-class research in Pakistan,” he said, adding: “A total of 18,000 people had volunteered for the Phase-III trial of the Chinese vaccine Can Sino. Among them more than 5,000 volunteers registered at the university.”

Prof Javed Akram said that vaccine research usually took around nine years to complete but given its urgent need, for the first time in history, the research period was shortened and completed within five months. He claimed that the results of this research exceeded his expectations. “The trial has been good and no major side effects have been reported so far,” he stated. Answering a question, he warned that in the coming years, the people would die of more diseases than wars. The people now need to be “protected from viruses, not missiles.”

He added that the importance of human lives had increased during the epidemic.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, while addressing a seminar on health and talking to media at a local hotel on Thursday, said the opposition lawmakers under PDM alliance have neither submitted their resignations, nor will they stage a long march, the opposition will also fail to table no confidence motion.

Terming continuity of democracy essential for the country’s development, prosperity and stability, the governor said: “No system can survive in Pakistan except democracy and the public also supports the continuity of democracy.”

The governor maintained that the doctors who fought on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic were the heroes of the nation and their services would always be remembered. He said that issuance of “Health Insaaf Card” by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is a historic project due to which no poor citizen will be deprived of basic health facilities.

Moreover, Special Assistant to the CM on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, while addressing a seminar on Typhoid vaccination awareness campaign said that provision of quality healthcare services is essential because healthy people develop economically prosperous nations.

She said the government was stridently working to overcome different challenges related to the delivery of quality healthcare services adding that typhoid conjugate vaccination would protect the children from the fatal diseases. The campaign will be held in two phases to vaccinate children from 9 months to 15 years, she added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021