Sindh warns health workers of termination if refuse COVID-19 jab
Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho has warned healthcare workers of termination if they refuse to get themselves vaccinated against coronavirus, media reported Thursday.
The provincial minister said this while presiding over a meeting on Wednesday on the establishment of adult vaccination centres across the province. "We have started the process of Covid-19 vaccination in Sindh where all healthcare workers are being registered for the vaccination. All those healthcare workers who do not take part in the process of vaccination and get themselves vaccinated would be terminated," she said.
She emphasised that healthcare workers not willing to receive the vaccine will receive show-causes notices and won't be allowed to work as they could potentially cause the spread of the disease and further mutations of the virus. Many health professionals are showing reluctance to get themselves vaccinated, especially after COVID-19 cases have started declining. To lure a large number of doctors, paramedics and nurses to get themselves inoculated, the Sindh health department has already announced the payment of a health risk allowance to healthcare workers who would get the vaccine jab.
But most frontline workers have been hesitant to get the vaccine dose. The health minister focused on the needs and requirements of each district in terms of vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers.
The first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out in every division and district in Sindh, and efforts are underway to start the second dose for those who have received the first one.
SMS alerts will be sent out to those registered to update them on the availability of the second dose. The AstraZeneca vaccine will be available by early March, and healthcare workers, as well as members of the public who are above the age of 60, will be notified so that they can register with their CNICs to receive their first doses. It was decided that district health officers will be responsible for monitoring the vaccine doses as well as ensuring that the cold chain of the vaccine is properly maintained.