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Coronavirus: “If you are not vaccinated, we will cut off your phone”, say the Authorities in Pakistan

The Pakistan is a country in which one a very small part of the population has been vaccinated against the new coronavirus. For this reason, the authorities decided to take more drastic measures to persuade the residents to take the preparation.

In this context, Punjab province today threatened to cut off telephone calls to those who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The province of Sindh has already announced that civil servants who refuse the vaccine will not be paid from July 1.

As the third wave of new coronavirus infections begins to stabilize in Pakistan, after weeks of restrictions in Punjab, the most populous province with Lahore as its capital, demand for vaccines has already slowed.

“In the beginning it was just a proposal, but as people are really hesitant, we decided to act.” explained Hamad Raza, the spokesman for the Punjab health services.

According to him and as relayed by APE-MPE, the public telecommunications service is expected to decide how to implement this measure in practice.

Approximately 10.5 million doses have been provided in this country of 220,000,000 inhabitants, thanks to the support – to a large extent – of China. Nevertheless, concerns about side effects, as well as misinformation, with some claiming that vaccines cause infertility and even death within two years of vaccination, they hinder the campaign.

“The level of education in Pakistan is very low and some people are spreading rumors and misinformation,” Salman Haseeb, president of the Pakistan Young Doctors Association, told AFP.

The threat, however, caused discomfort to the citizens of Lahore. “It will be difficult for me if I can not use my phone, but I am really afraid of the vaccine,” said Saima Bibi, a domestic helper from Lahore.

To motivate citizens to get vaccinated, they are promised that they will be able to go to the cinema, banquet halls and places of worship.

Pakistan has officially recorded 21,500 deaths from Covid-19, but this number is considered underestimated due to the lack of a sufficient number of diagnostic tests.

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