by Syed Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Karachi, struggling with a fifth wave of COVID-19, has launched a door-to-door campaign to immunize women, who have much lower immunization coverage than men.
“We have found that a significant number of housewives are unvaccinated, and are getting together and attending weddings without a mask,” Qasim Siraj Soomro, head of health in the provincial government of Sindh, told Reuters.
He said that the vaccination rate of working men is higher than that of women.
Pakistan reported nearly 1,300 cases for the day on Friday, the highest level in two months, with a positivity rate of 2.5%. The infection rate in Karachi has fallen from 4.74% as of December 31 to 10%.
The provincial government’s campaign will involve female health workers – who have played a key role in national polio immunization campaigns, among other things.
“We plan to target population groups in urban areas and later in rural areas,” said Qasim Siraj Soomro.
About 70 million people in Pakistan, or 32% of the population, have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The government authorized a recall for people over 30 from Monday. Children over 12 can be vaccinated in their schools.
The first case of the Omicron variant was reported on December 13 in Karachi. The federal government has acknowledged that the country is entering a fifth wave of infections, with most cases in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
(French version Dina Kartit, edited by Sophie Louet)
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