IT is reassuring to see the Covid-19 vaccine recipient pool expanding further. Thus far, around 38,000 healthcare workers have been inoculated against the virus as the first group in order of priority, with individuals 65 years and above to follow in the second phase. The government on Monday opened registration for senior citizens to get in the queue for vaccination which is projected to start in March. It was on Feb 2, after receiving 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine the day before, that Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched the countrywide inoculation drive with the first jabs being administered to health workers in Islamabad. Vaccination campaigns in the provinces had begun immediately after. There have been concerns expressed that the campaign has until now proceeded more slowly than anticipated over misgivings about whether the vaccine was safe, especially for people above 60 years, an age group that was not included in the Sinopharm vaccine trials. In such a situation the government must be proactive in countering misinformation that can spread like wildfire creating unnecessary hurdles in the way of a population acquiring herd immunity. Evidence has begun coming in from some countries showing that vaccinations are already having the desired effect. In the UK, the country that launched the global vaccination drive in December, virus levels have come down to their lowest since last July. Israel has reported a 94pc drop in infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine.

Aside from misinformation and a general distrust of vaccines in many segments of this country’s population, it is important that the vaccination drive not exploit existing income inequalities. The government had declared it would make the vaccine available for free to its population. At the same time it has also allowed the private sector to import the approved vaccines so that more individuals can get inoculated sooner. Fair enough: there is nothing wrong in that per se, but it is a matter of concern that the government has exempted the vaccines to be administered to paying customers from the price cap regime that applies to all drug sales in Pakistan. The absence of such a check would allow companies to make a windfall from this health emergency and drive vaccine prices beyond the reach of all but the most well-heeled individuals. Pelf and privilege would buy them protection while others less fortunate would still be waiting their turn.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2021