Despite the development of a new wave of COVID-19 in neighboring China and India, Pakistan’s health officials rule out any impending danger, claiming that more than 90 percent of the population has been vaccinated and a surveillance system is in operation at airports and other access points.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) convened a special conference, headed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman, Lt. General Inam Haider Malik, to consider the risk of COVID-19 recurrence following the discovery of BF.7, a sub-variant of COVID-19 that has afflicted China and India.
In a briefing to the session, National Institute of Health (NIH) officials stated that over 90 percent of the population has been immunized against the virus using a combination of western, Chinese, and Russian vaccines. Authorities, on the other hand, are constantly observing the situation and prepared for any scenario.
Chairman NDMA urged federal and provincial governments to guarantee that treatment services are available in intensive care units (ICUs) and high dependency units (HDUs) at hospitals and medical care facilities across the country. He also directed the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) at NIH to provide recommendations and directives in the event of an emergency.
An NIH expert explained herd immunity as a community being immune to infectious illness when 70 to 80 percent of the population gains immunity by vaccination or disease contracting. After acquiring herd immunity, the entire community becomes immune, and thus, the disease can no longer spread through interpersonal contact. The official explained that a majority of the local population has been vaccinated, and has had contact with the disease naturally as well.
Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry, Director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi, clarified that China’s scenario is unique in that it has never permitted its people to build immunity. Furthermore, Chinese individuals are exclusively immunized with their own vaccines, which are less effective against developing varieties, as compared to a diverse set of international ones.
