There is a rash of misleading claims on social media about vaccinations against Covid-19. In a statement attributed to a Nobel Prize winner, it is said that people who get vaccinated against the deadly virus might die within two years of doing so. On different social media platforms, the claim has been widely shared.
Mucormycosis also called ‘Black Fungus’ has been detected among several Covid-19 patients across Pakistan. Four patients have thus far died due to the dangerous fungal infection. The infection affects the sinuses, brain, lungs, skin and kidneys, and symptoms depends on where in the body the fungi is growing. The infection is being largely reported in Covid-19 patients in India.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to curtail inbound flights to Pakistan from May 5 to May 20 amid the country’s worsening coronavirus situation. Besides this, the NCOC also allowed the import of 20 cryogenic tanks and decided to shut down the scrap industry of Misri Shah so oxygen could be diverted to the healthcare sector instead.
A 100-year-old Pakistani, who received a coronavirus jab earlier this month, has lived through two pandemics and is believed to be the oldest person in Pakistan to get vaccinated. Israil Ahmed Menai, a resident of Karachi, urged people to take necessary precautions against COVID-19 and get themselves inoculated to prevent the spread of the disease, saying there was no ‘rational’ reason to mistrust vaccines.
The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) has released an eight-step procedure to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan. The plan aims to vaccinate people under an integrated digital system following the best international practices, according to a statement by the NCOC. All details of immunisation will be handled through the National Immunisation Management System, which the federal government developed last year.
The co-founder of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin has shown hope that its vaccine against the coronavirus works against the mutated strain detected in Britain, but if necessary, it could also adapt the vaccine in six weeks. Sahin said the variant detected in Britain has nine mutations, rather than just one as is usually common. He said tests are being run on the variant, with results expected in two weeks.
The Ministry of Education has proposed to shut down educational institutions in the country from November 24 to January 31. Amid a second wave of coronavirus infections in Pakistan, primary schools will be closed from November 24, middle schools from December 2 and higher secondary schools be closed from December 15, the ministry proposed in its letter to the provinces.
The COVID-19 has again entered dangerous phase in Pakistan, experts have warned, while announcing that the second wave of the deadly virus had started in the country. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), after continuous warnings of rising Covid-19 cases across the country, made it compulsory for all citizens to wear a face mask when stepping out of their homes.
The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said that 22 educational institutions across the country were closed down during the last 48 hours for failing to comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for curbing the spread of Covid-19. According to the statement, 16 of these educational institutions were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one in Islamabad and five in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
A recent study has revealed that nine out of 10 Covid-19 patients in Karachi were asymptomatic, meaning only one in 10 show symptoms of the deadly pandemic. The study conducted by Aga Khan University researchers suggested hospitals in Pakistan did not face the same strain as hospitals in Spain and United Kingdom because most patients did not experience any symptoms and did not require treatment.