ISLAMABAD: Pakistan readies to open COVID vaccine registrations for people aged 50 plus on the 30th of this month. This piece of good news was shared by the Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar in a tweet earlier today.

The news comes on the day when Pakistan's new cases' tally reached a 9-month high as the country reported over 4,300 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours - the first time it has crossed this threshold since July 3rd, 2020. Positivity rate rose to 10.3% while at least 63 COVID casualties were reported in the last 24 hours.

The third wave of coronavirus is in full swing in the country these days. The daily cases have been increasing uncontrollably and the hospitals are filling up fast. The only way out is the mass vaccination campaign which still seems like a distant dream as so far only the healthcare workers and people over the age of 60 are being vaccinated across the country. So the news that people over 50 will be allowed to register themselves in a few days is a welcoming one.

Federal minister Asad Umar who is also heading the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) took to Twitter, announcing the news:

Registration of those who are 50 plus for Covid vaccination will be opened on March 30th. Registration of those who are 60 and older has already been open.

He also urged the masses to register for the coronavirus jabs as early as possible so we can come out of this pandemic. He added:

Encourage everybody who is 50 plus to register when the registration is opened for them on the 30th.