KARACHI: Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Sindh, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho held a meeting on Phase 2 of the Covid Outreach Vaccination Campaign. The Campaign will go on from the 21st of March till the 3rd of April, 2022.

The meeting was held at the Sindh Secretariat Office where Secretary Health, Mr Zulfiqar Shah, Project Director, EPI, Dr Irshad Memon and Dr Sohail Sheikh were in attendance. The meeting was informed that the total doses administered so far in Phase 2 were 2,525,909. Number of people who have been fully vaccinated in the province including this campaign have been 23.79 million and there are 3.23 million folks who have yet to be vaccinated. 69.43% of the population has been fully immunized and 90.57% of the population have received the first dose of the covid vaccine.

The Phase 2 campaign has so far achieved 22% of the target and vaccinators and community mobilisers have not been met with any resistance to the vaccines or refusals either. Minister for Health, Dr Azra Pechuho said that there might be a new wave of covid infections due to the variant ‘Deltacron’ and also keeping in mind the news of lockdowns being reintroduced in China are both variables to be concerned about. In light of this those who are above 60 years of age and those who have comorbidities must be the priority for full immunization.

Dr Irshad Memon stated that there are constant efforts to sensitize the community to the urgency of the issue and that social awareness is being prioritized for this campaign. Dr Azra Pechuho also said that the healthcare professionals who are doing field and community work must be appreciated for their labour.