ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) is preparing two more mass vaccination centres to vaccinate a bigger chunk of the city’s population in less time, The Nation learnt on Monday.
Senior officials at the Ministry of NHS informed The Nation that the mass vaccination centres with the capacity of vaccinating around 10,000 persons a day are going to start working in upcoming weeks.
Officials said that one vaccination centre will be established in F-9 park with the capacity of vaccinating 8,000-10,000 people daily. Officials said that this vaccination centre will be operational this week.
Officials also said that another mass vaccination centre is planned in the Convention Centre and that one will be operational in June.
“The mass vaccination centres with increased capacity are being built to vaccinate a big chunk of eligible people for vaccination in relatively short time,” said a senior official. Officials said that enhanced capacity of the mass vaccination centres including Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Centre (IHITC), F-9 and Convention Centre will contribute to vaccinating 50 per cent eligible population of the city.
Officials said that around 100 vaccinators have been hired to vaccinate people in the mass vaccination centres. The vaccinators have been hired for two months and will be given Rs45,000 salary per month. Officials said that around 19 vaccination centres will be functional in the city to vaccinate maximum people. Local vaccination centres will be upgraded in the rural areas to vaccinate people there. “There is a chance of increase in surge of cases in the rural areas so the basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs) will work as local vaccination centres to vaccinate the rural population. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on NHS Dr. Faisal Sultan responding to The Nation about mass vaccination in the city said that we will continue to keep bringing down the age range while Islamabad and other cities will follow the same pattern. He added that there is no confusion in it that federal capital will do what elsewhere is being done. “Stage wise, age stratified vaccination,” he said.
 Officials said that so far 210,000 people in the city have been vaccinated and mass vaccination centres will further increase the strength of the vaccination in the city.  The federal city during last week, including Eid holidays, observed a decline in the registration of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, The Nation learnt on Monday. According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) data, above one thousand (1,021) cases of COVID-19 were reported in the city in previous week which also included Eid holidays when movement and public interaction was restricted in the capital. The data showed that 182 cases were reported on May 10, 178 on May 11, 165 on May 12, 244 on May 13, 58 on May 14, 96 on May 15, and 98 on May 16. However, 2,063 COVID-19 cases were reported from 03 to 15 May, according to the NCOC data. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 79,221 with 731 deaths and 70,000 recoveries.