ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of people, who came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Islamabad to be vaccinated, blocked 9th Avenue for hours during a protest on Wednesday after being told by staff at the F-9 vaccination center that they were missing from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

More than 2,000 people made their way to the F-9 vaccination center and the police could not stop them, officials in the capital’s administration said, adding that the failure of the police to disperse the crowd could have been counterproductive as the violent crowd could have put the lives of staff to work. at the at-risk vaccination center.

Two days ago, around 3,000 people smashed the glass doors of the vaccination center and stormed inside, causing panic among staff at the center. They were protesting against the shortage of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Officials in the capital’s administration said on both days that police could not disperse the crowds. As of June 28, staff at the center suspended work on Wednesday due to the hostile situation and remained captive for hours, officials said.

Protesters block 9th Avenue, creating problems for motorists

The public was annoyed when staff informed them of the unavailability of Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The crowd then gathered on 9th Avenue, resulting in the closure of Shaheen Chowk Avenue to F-8 Exchange Chowk.

Officials from the capital’s administration negotiated with the protesters and informed them that the vaccines they were asking for were not available in the capital. After a prolonged dialogue, the demonstrators dispersed in the afternoon.

Operations at the vaccination center resumed in the evening.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat said Dawn that a KP deputy brought crowds to the capital. The demonstrators stayed at the vaccination center from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Arab countries have made Pfizer and AstraZeneca mandatory for entry, the DC said, adding that staff at the centers check people’s passports and visas before administering vaccines to people, but due to large gatherings. , sometimes it becomes difficult to verify each person’s passport and visa.

At the same time, 33 new cases of Covid-19 appeared in the capital on Wednesday.

Officials in the capital’s administration said that in the past 24 hours 1,900 tests had been carried out and out of a total of 19 men and 14 women were positive. The positivity rate was 1.7 pc, they added.

Ten cases were reported in the 30-39 age group, followed by eight in 20-29, five in 40-49, four in 50-59, three in 10-19 and one each in 60-69, 70-79 and 80 and over, they said, adding that three cases each had been reported to F-11 and F-8, two cases each to G-13, F-10, Rawal Town and Bari Imam and one cases each in Bhara Kahu, G-10, G-6, G-9, G-11, I-10, Khanna, Rawat, G-8, Model Town, Kurri, Sohan, G-6, I-9, Alipur , G-5 and Sihala.

Rawalpindi

Up to 20 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday and 22 patients were discharged from hospitals after their recovery in the past 24 hours. No casualties have been reported in the district for the past six days.

In Rawalpindi district, there are 146 active patients. Up to 29 patients are hospitalized, including seven patients who arrived from other districts and 117 patients are isolated at home.

No less than 16 patients arrived from the garrison town, including 11 from the cantonment, two from the town of Potohar and three from the town of Rawal. One patient each arrived from Gujar Khan and Taxila while two patients came from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

New patients have arrived at the city’s hospitals, including 10 who were admitted to the Holy Family Hospital, five to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), six to the Rawalpindi Urological Institute (RIU) and nine patients at the Fauji Foundation hospital (FFH).

There is one patient on a ventilator in Rawalpindi, 20 are on oxygen and nine are stable.

According to the District Health Authority, 714,994 people in the district have so far been vaccinated, including 683,634 residents, while 31,360 frontline health workers have been vaccinated.

Posted in Dawn, July 1, 2021