Pakistan's overall vaccination count crosses 100 million

Pakistan on Saturday achieved the landmark of administering over 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines to its citizens as the country continued to witness a decline in its Covid-19 cases.

During the last 24 hours, the country administered 681,520 doses, taking the overall count to 100,016,587, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar also took to Twitter to celebrate this achievement. He said so far, 68 million people have been administered the doses out of which 38 million have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

The head of NCOC added that 30 million have received a single dose. "It is very important that people who have taken one dose get another dose," he urged.

Earlier, Umar had warned that despite the decline in the Covid-19 cases, the whole nation will remain vulnerable if a large number of individuals fail to get vaccinated against the deadly virus.

He said that they all must ensure that there is no fifth wave of Covid-19, adding that the second dose of the vaccine is vital for protection against coronavirus.

Meeting vaccination target a must to prevent 5th Covid-19 wave: Asad Umar

Authorities have also gradually expanded the inoculation, while easing restrictions that recently saw educational institutes opening throughout the country. Similarly, vaccination has been expanded to include school children with the threshold being lowered to 12 years of age.

Meanwhile, Pakistan conducted 39,179 tests during the last 24 hours, out of which 552 came out positive. So far, Pakistan has reported 1,267,945 Covid-19 cases.

The coronavirus positivity ratio was recorded at 1.40%, while there are 1,648 critical cases.

Meanwhile, the novel virus claimed 15 more lives, taking the death toll to 28,359. Moreover, 842 people also recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 1,215,505.