Lahore: A student receives a dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from a health worker while others wait for their turn at a school on Monday. The government has started a drive to vaccinate schoolchildren aged 12 and above to help protect them from coronavirus.—AP
Lahore: A student receives a dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from a health worker while others wait for their turn at a school on Monday. The government has started a drive to vaccinate schoolchildren aged 12 and above to help protect them from coronavirus.—AP

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Monday said that 19 million families had got the facility of health card across the country.

He said that 100 per cent population of Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan would get the facility by January next year.

Chairing a meeting of the health programme which was participated by all the provinces, Dr Sultan said that the ambit of the programme had been expanded across the country.

The meeting was also attended by Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Taimur Jhagra.

Covid positivity ratio recorded at 2.84pc

“Now poor can get the medical treatment without spending a penny. Under the Universal Health Coverage Programme, the people of erstwhile Fata, Tharparkar and Azad Jammu and Kash­mir will get free treatment,” Dr Sultan said.

It is worth mentioning that under the programme, each family can get up to Rs1 million for secondary care treatment which begins as soon as a patient is hospitalised.

It covers all kinds of diseases, including cancer, accident, burn injuries, diabetic complications, heart bypass and infections.

Meanwhile, data of the National Command and Operation Centre showed that as many as 1,490 cases of Covid-19 were reported and 27 patients succumbed to the virus across the country on Monday. The national positivity ratio was 2.84 per cent and 3,407 patients were on critical care.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...
Terror and politics
Updated 29 Sep, 2026

Terror and politics

There is an urgent need to tone down the rhetoric and tackle terrorism as a collective challenge for both the affected provinces and the federation.
Watching the glaciers
29 Sep, 2026

Watching the glaciers

THE latest signs from Pakistan’s mountains are worrying. Suparco says the number of unfrozen glacial lakes it...
Dangerous agenda
29 Sep, 2026

Dangerous agenda

AS the world remains fixated on the US-Iran conflict, elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel is consolidating its grip...