• First batch of procured Covid vaccine arrives as bulk due in mid-April
• Hospital beds in three major cities near capacity
• Outgoing finance minister contracts virus

ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan reported 100 deaths from coronavirus within just 24 hours, the current year’s highest death toll in a single day, the number of critical patients in the country reached an all-time record of 3,749 with over 80pc oxygenated beds occupied in Peshawar, Swat and Gujranwala hospitals on Tuesday.

At least 4,084 more people, including the outgoing finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, contracted the virus in the past one day, according to official sources, which also confirmed that the number of active cases across the country surged to 48,566.

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar claimed that the first batch of procured vaccine was on its way to Pakistan. As it seems that Pakistan may not get the Oxford-AstraZeneca from Covax for a few months, the minister also announced that the country would get three million doses, in the form of bulk vaccine, by the middle of April from a Chinese company, Cansino Bio.

Currently number of critical patients across Pakistan is far more than 3,300 recorded during the peak of the first wave of Covid-19 in June last year. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, as many as 3,749 Covid patients are in critical condition.

In all, 413 ventilators allocated for coronavirus patients were occupied across the country. Of all the ventilators in Multan and Islamabad, 67pc were occupied, followed by Lahore’s 63pc and Gujranwala’s 60pc. Official data also confirms that more than 80 per cent oxygenated beds in Gujranwala, Swat and Peshawar were occupied, indicating that hospitals in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are near capacity.

The NCOC recorded 4,084 new cases and 100 deaths in the past one day. This is the highest death toll in a day since December 23, 2020, when 111 deaths were reported from across Pakistan.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said the national positivity ratio was 8.83pc on Tuesday. While sharing details of positivity ratio in the federating units, the PM’s aide said it was 12.31pc in Islamabad, 10.43pc in Punjab, 8.98pc in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 8.55pc in KP, 2.98pc in Sindh, 2.33pc in GB and 2.15pc in Balochistan.

The outgoing finance minister, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, too, tested positive for Covid, the third senior government official to do so in 24 hours, a week after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced he himself had contracted the virus, as President Arif Alvi and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak on Monday announced they had both tested positive for coronavirus.

In a tweet, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, who has been given the additional portfolio of finance minister, wrote: “Just found out that Dr Hafeez has tested positive for Covid-19. I pray for his swift recovery and good health.”

Also on Tuesday, the minister for planning and special initiatives turned to Twitter to announce that the first consignment of procured vaccine was on the way to Pakistan. “First batch of Cansino vaccine procured being received today. This is the vaccine in which Pakistan participated in phase 3 trials, which was the first time ever that Pakistan had done so for any vaccine,” wrote Mr Umar.

The minister had earlier revealed that the government had procured one million doses of Sinopharm and 60,000 doses of Cansino. Cansino is the only vaccine that has been administered to around 18,000 Pakistanis during the phase-3 clinical trial.

Equipment, training

“We will be getting bulk vaccine by mid April from Cansino from which 3 million vaccine doses can be made. The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilized and packed in Pakistan. For this purpose special equipment has been procured and manpower is being trained,” Mr Umar further tweeted.

Studies to vaccinate mothers-to-be

Just a day ago, a four-day-old baby contracted the deadly virus and shifted to oxygenated bed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad.

As a number of babies have been tested positive for Covid-19, experts have suggested that both parents and healthcare workers should strictly follow the standard operating procedures regarding babies.

Member of the Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 and Vice Chancellor of the University of Health Sciences Prof Dr Javed Akram confirmed to Dawn that babies contracted the virus from parents very frequently.

“That is why internationally three studies are being held in which vaccine is being given to pregnant women so that the antibodies would be developed in babies. Though infants recover from Covid-19 very fast, in some cases they die after three months due to Kawasaki Syndrome, in which symptoms are just like cardiac arrest,” he explained.

In reply to a question, Dr Akram said that if a mother-to-be is found positive her baby should immediately be shifted to isolation ward after delivery. “Mother milk should be given to babies through breast pump as it is the only option to protect babies from deadly virus. Once mother is found negative, baby should be handed over to her,” he said.

Covax, an international alliance that had pledged to provide free of cost doses for 20pc Pakistanis, had given assurance that the first consignment of the promised vaccine would reach by the end of March. However, the delivery has been delayed apparently due to high demand of vaccine in some other countries.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2021