Islamabad, February 15: Pakistan on Monday started registration of elderly people aged 65 years and above to vaccinate them against the deadly coronavirus, as the national tally of the COVID-19 cases reached 564,077. Planning Minister Asad Umar, who is also chief of the anti-corona National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), said that the vaccination of the registered elderly people would begin next month.

“Pleased to announce that registration for getting COVID vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above. Just write down your CNIC (Computerised National Identity Card) number and send message on 1166. Vaccinations for this age group will start in March,” he tweeted. COVID-19 Vaccination in UK: British Govt Hits Target of Giving at Least One Vaccine Shot to 15 Million People.

The vaccination of the frontline health workers in the country started on February 2, a day after China donated 500,000 Sinopharm doses to Pakistan. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, 1,048 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, while 26 patients died in the same period, taking the total number of fatalities to 12,333.

A total of 525,997 people have recovered from the disease. The authorities carried out 32,019 tests in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate stood at 3.27 per cent.