Staff Reporter
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Monday the province would soon begin to vaccinate the citizens as it has arranged for about 170 million Covid-19 vaccine doses via Punjab corona fund.
Speaking to media, the provincial health chief said soon the drive to jab ordinary citizens would begin wherein people aged 65 and above would be given preference.
She said the province established a corona fund whose tally has been kept, apparently in a remark to opposition, as Dr Yasmin Rashid continued that no matter how much the opposition continued to cause a furor the provincial accounts are unharmed.
Dr Rashid said the govt has procured 170 million vaccine doses for the people out of those funds and these will be available in Punjab shortly.
Earlier it was reported yesterday, Punjab received its third consignment of 70,000 corona vaccine doses, however, the health professionals of the province appeared reluctant to get vaccinated against coronavirus as only 35pc of the staff have been vaccinated despite the passage of 23 days, said sources.
“Only 45,000 doses out of total doses of 2,75000 have been consumed so far.” A large number of health professionals are reluctant to get vaccinated against the deadly virus till the situation regarding the side effects becomes clear, said sources.
EXAM SCHEDULE YET TO BE ISSUED
Nine matric and intermediate education boards in Punjab province have yet not issued an exam schedule, putting the future of around 4 million students at stake.
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore is also among the nine boards where the examination schedule is delayed.
When asked regarding the matter, Secretary BISE Awais Saleem was unaware of the exam schedule and said that he has an additional charge and knows nothing regarding it.
“I don’t know how to run the affairs after Covid-19,” the secretary who is responsible for 500,000 students said.
It is pertinent to mention here that not only the secretary but the controller examinations are also appointed on an additional charge in the Lahore Board while Chairman of the BISE Dr. Mirza Habib Ali is also appointed just over a week back.
Irregularities have also been reported in the Lahore board and it has led to a fire incident in the BISE building, which caused damage to the documents. Besides this, incidents of papers being leaked by the board officials are also currently under investigation.
