My mother is a senior citizen and she received got her first COVID vaccine shot
During the mid of February, the government announced that the elderly citizens in the various major cities of Pakistan will get free vaccination for COVID-19. The senior citizens were required to register their ID card numbers through a text message to 1166. I registered my mother’s CNIC since she met the given criteria. I received a reply that the date and venue for vaccination will be later revealed through a text message.
The first shot
I received a text message with the registration number and a venue and date for the vaccination in early March. On the date, we reached CDA Hospital in Islamabad for vaccination around midday. Since this was the first day of vaccination altogether, there are long queues and we decided to come back the next day.
We returned to the hospital the day after next around 8:30 in the morning and found out that the operation was running very smoothly and there were no long queues. I filled in the form and submitted it to the counter. The process of vaccination was already underway at the time.
In lesson 45 minutes of registration at the hospital, my mother’s name was also called out. Within a few minutes, she received her first coronavirus vaccine shot. We were told that she will receive another message after some time about when the second shot will be due.
The second shot
The date for the second shot who was supposed to be the second of April and I received a reminder on March 31, with all the pertinent details. We’re looking forward to her getting the second shot since this will help her remain safe against a virus that is especially hard on the elderly.
The overall experience
The efforts of the government and administration must be admired. They have managed the heavy demand rather well. I have discussed this with a number of friends and family and they have all had similar experiences with the vaccination of their parents.
NCOC and other relevant authorities have done well in vaccinating senior citizens. We didn’t need to do anything other than register over the phone. We hope that the vaccine for all people over the age of 18 will be available soon enough. Best of luck to the government in vaccinating the masses and keeping coronavirus away.