COVID-19 vaccination comes to halt in Pakistan's major cities

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 15 (ANI): The COVID-19 vaccination process in major cities of Pakistan has come to a halt due to a shortage of vaccines as supplies from the federal government have been delayed for unknown reasons.
According to Geo News, the shortage of coronavirus vaccines has been halted in major cities of Punjab province, including Lahore. Even in Sindh's Karachi, Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are in short supply and only those eligible for a second dose are being facilitated at most centres.
A large number of people at Lahore's mass vaccination centres were sent back by security guards after being told that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)system is being updated and so vaccination has stopped and will resume after two days.
However, sources informed that there are only three days of vaccine stocks left in other cities of the province and the Punjab Health Department has demanded more vaccines.
The vaccination process has stopped in Bahawalpur and Faisalabad, while the stock of COVID-19 vaccines has decreased in six divisions of Gujranwala, Geo News reported sources.
Despite this, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid denied any shortage, saying the problem arose as a large number of people came to the centre for a second dose.
Pakistan, in terms of health facilities including the COVID-19 vaccination drive is far behind as compared to other countries in the region, according to the Economic Survey of the country.
As per the survey, the COVID-19 pandemic had tested the country's health infrastructure and identified needs for more investment in the sector, especially to improve diagnostic facilities, disease surveillance, prevention and spread, training of health personnel and their protection from the pandemic, vaccine development, upgrading healthcare infrastructure, emergency rooms, intensive care units, isolation wards and public awareness, reported Dawn.
A comparative position of the regional countries in health indicators development shows an abysmal picture as infant mortality rate (IMR), per 1,000 live births, in Pakistan is 55.7, in Afghanistan 46, in India 28, Bangladesh 25, China seven and in Sri Lanka six. (ANI)