Islamabad: On Thursday, while talking to select senior journalists, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that the government plans to open registration for novel coronavirus vaccination for all citizens after the Eid ul Fitr holidays.

As of today, people aged 50 and above are eligible for registering for COVID-19 jabs in Pakistan. Like most nations, Pakistan took the approach of stepwise registrations of its citizens for the coronavirus vaccines. Initially, only health workers were granted access to the vaccines in early February. Then the registrations were opened for people aged above 60 and then at the end of March, 50 plus citizens were also asked by the federal government to register themselves for the vaccines.

The senior PTI leader told the correspondents that China is the main supplier of vaccines to Pakistan. Dubbing the next few weeks "critical", the minister urged the public to strictly follow Covid SOPs to help straighten the virus curve in the country as soon as possible. He said:

We'll be able to vaccinate more than 125,000 people daily after Eid ul Fitr. CanSino vaccines will be available after the festival which will help boost our immunization drive.

This positive news comes on the day when Pakistan recorded a staggering 5,329 new coronavirus cases in a day, which is the highest single-day rise during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic.

The federal and provincial governments must ensure that the Covid vaccination drives must be sped up as it is the only way out of these chaotic times.