ISLAMABAD: The COVID-19 vaccination drive is in full swing in Pakistan for the past month or so and according to some experts has been one of the two main reasons why we have seen the number of daily infections dropped in the past two-three weeks, lockdown restrictions being the other one.

The latest statistics provided by the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), the nerve center to synergize and articulate a unified national effort against COVID-19, show us that as of today, a total of 2,174,169 people have been fully vaccinated against novel coronavirus infection in Pakistan i.e. these individuals have completed their vaccine course. While the number of partially vaccinated people has reached 3,746,786 i.e. these individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

• In the past 24 hours, 304,862 Covid vaccine doses were administered in the country taking the total doses' tally to 7,953,574. 

The PTI-led federal government aims to increase the vaccination capacity further in the coming weeks. According to Asad Umar, the federal minister for planning, the Khan administration has set the ambitious target of vaccinating around 70 million Pakistanis by the end of the year. The minister who also heads the NCOC tweeted a few hours ago regarding the matter of funding for the procurement of the vaccines. He wrote:

The acceleration of vaccination drive in the country is being made possible by the huge investment by the federal govt. So far the procurement of vaccines has reached nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. Much more to be spent next year on the procurement of the vaccines.

It's heartening to see that the government has set its priorities right in the mission of combating the spread of the deadly flu bug by mass vaccination drives. But only time will tell whether it succeeds or not.