The 68-year-old former international cricketer received his first dose of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine against Sinopharm on Thursday. The Sinopharm vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine available in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s health ministry said it could take a few weeks to develop immunity to the virus after vaccination, and asked the public not to be prevented from having an injection based on Khan’s diagnosis.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan was not fully vaccinated when he contracted the virus. He only received the first dose and only 2 days ago, which is too soon for ANY vaccine to become effective. Antibodies develop 2-3 weeks after the 2nd 2-dose dose of COVID vaccines. #VaccinesWork “, tweeted the Pakistani Ministry of Health on Saturday.
The South Asian nation of 220 million people recorded 13,799 deaths and 623,135 cases during the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Cases have increased in Pakistan in recent weeks, although the pandemic has remained largely under control. Blocking restrictions have been enforced in some parts of the country in response to the increase in infections.
The vaccine’s launch in Pakistan, which began on March 10 with the elderly, was met with hesitation by some parts of the population and images of Khan receiving the injection were transmitted in an apparent attempt to alleviate the concerns.
Khan’s spokesman, Shahbaz Gill, was quick to dismiss the positive result of the prime minister’s test with the Sinopharm shot.
Gill said Khan had a mild cough and fever, and prayed that he would recover quickly.
Khan has been holding regular meetings and recently attended a security conference in the capital Islamabad, where he addressed an unmasked crowd.