By: ChandrashekarBhat
PAKISTAN’S Sindh province has made Covid-19 immunisation compulsory for its population in an attempt to firmly tackle vaccine hesitancy.
Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who said the drastic measure was taken to “secure our citizens”, did not specify any timeline for the mandatory vaccination.
The announcement comes on the back of the provincial administration’s decision to block the salaries of government and semi-government employees who are not vaccinated within a month.
Just 1.6 million people of the 47.9 million population of the province have been immunised against Covid-19 so far, mainly with China’s Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines.
Sindh, which experienced a higher coronavirus infection rate than the rest of the country, has been under stringent restrictions even as the federal government said the province could take a call on extending the curbs depending on the requirements.
Industries, however, have demanded the easing of the restrictions, as the early closure has hurt businesses in the province, particularly in Karachi.
At the national level, health authorities decided to administer the Pfizer vaccine only to pilgrims and others who go abroad, as those jabs have been in short supply. There is a stock of just 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine in the country, a Dawn report said on Friday.
Pakistan recorded 2,028 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 92 deaths in a single day, according to the National Command Operation Centre.
