OKARA: University of Health Sciences(UHS) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Javed Akram said on Wednesday that so for 32 per cent of the world population had been vaccinated against coronavirus whereas the ratio in Pakistan was only three per cent.

He said this at a seminar by the University of Okara (UO).

He said until 65 percent of the world population was jabbed, the coronavirus pandemic cannot be controlled. He delivered a detailed presentation on his institution’s interventions regarding Covid-19 prevention and vaccination and vowed to collaborate with the UO on pandemic-related research.

Moreover, he argued, that herd immunity was the ultimate goal to flatten the curve of the virus. He also inaugurated the Department of Public Health at the UO.

UO Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Zakria Zakar urged Dr Akram to help the UO promote medical and public health education and health literacy.

Punjab University’s Prof Dr Rubeena Zakar also shared the results of her latest research on the hesitation and acceptance of Covid-19 vaccination in Pakistan. She stated hesitation towards the vaccination stemmed from the non-serious attitude towards healthcare, lack of trust, and conspiracy theories.

Dr Rashid Qammar Rao, principal, Sahiwal Medical College, and social activist Mazhar Sahi also spoke.

CASE: Twenty-two people, including eight nominated people, were booked for resisting the Okara Sadar police during a raid to arrest a man in village 29/2R.

The police said the Sadar police raided the house of a proclaimed offender, but during the arrest, dozens of villagers, including Mustafa, Saeed and Jafar Nadeem, along with 19 others, torn off the uniforms of cops and injured constable Attique.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2021