ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday said that anti-coronavirus shots were “a must” as he sought to warn people against “skeptics” of the vaccine.
“It is given in two doses & takes a few weeks to become effective. In most cases it is 100% effective & in remaining, [the] severity of infection is greatly reduced which increases survival rate,” the president said in a tweet.
Covid-19 vaccination is a must. It is given in two doses & takes a few weeks to become effective. In most cases it is 100% effective & in remaining, severity of infection is greatly reduced which increases survival rate. Beware of those who who create doubt, as they know not.
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) March 21, 2021
“Beware of those who create doubt, as they know not.”
His tweet comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan tested positive for Covid-19 — two days after receiving his first vaccine dose, prompting high skepticism about vaccine safety.
Khan, 68, received his first of the two prescribed shots of a coronavirus vaccine on Thursday. When news of him testing positive for the contagious disease came out, the rumour mills went abuzz with speculation that the prime minister contracted the disease after vaccination.
But health experts say it is likely Khan was infected prior to being vaccinated. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), national health agency of the United States, says the vaccine does not infect patients with the disease, but those who may have contracted the virus before they are vaccinated can become ill after a shot because it takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity.
However, Ministry of National Health Services, soon after the news of PM Imran contracting the disease broke out, clarified that he had not been “fully vaccinated” when he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
It said that the prime minister had only received the first dose of the vaccine and that too merely two days ago, further explaining that the time frame was too soon for any vaccine to become effective. Antibodies develop 2-3 weeks after the second dose of 2-dose Covid vaccines.
President Alvi and his spouse, Samina Alvi, were inoculated on March 15, days after the second phase of the vaccination process started in the country in which people over 60 years of age are receiving shots.
The couple had arrived at a vaccination center on Java Road after receiving the intimation from 1166 service where he had registered on February 15.
