ISLAMABAD
\nFederal Health Minister Qadir Patel on Wednesday announced that the government will begin vaccinating children between the ages of five and 11 against coronavirus \u201cwithin a month or two\u201d as he called for a return to Covid precautionary measures.
\nAt a media briefing of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad today, he said vaccines for children in the 5-11 year age bracket were only available with Pfizer.
\n\u201cWe have engaged in a dialogue with them. Hopefully, by August or September, we will receive 6.8 million doses from Pfizer which is a step forward,\u201d he said.
\nCovid cases in Pakistan, the minister noted, had increased in the last few days. \u201cThe situation is not worrisome [yet] but it requires the public to be cautious.\u201d
\nFor this purpose, the government is proposing three standard operating procedures (SOPs) that need to be \u201cfollowed religiously\u201d, he said. \u201cWe have made masks mandatory in all closed gatherings, airlines, railways and public transport. Social distancing and proper sanitisation are also very important.\u201d
\nPatel cautioned that Eidul Azha and Muharram were coming up during which large public gatherings are typically held.
\n\u201cWe are mulling over strategies for these occasions as well, as the threat of coronavirus cases rising persists during these months,\u201d he said.
\nHe added that the government has also decided to increase mass testing across the country on the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for which instructions had been sent to the health secretaries of all four provinces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Federal Health Minister Qadir Patel on Wednesday announced that the government will begin vaccinating children between the ages of five and 11 against coronavirus \u201cwithin a month or two\u201d as he called for a return to Covid precautionary measures. At a media briefing of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad today, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-268858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n