Pakistan’s prime minister, cricket legend Imran Khan, tested positive for COVID-19 – two days after receiving his first dose of the vaccine, officials announced.
The 68-year-old leader was “in good health” with a mild cough and fever and was isolating himself at home, said his special health assistant, Dr. Faisal Sultan, in announcing the infection on Saturday.
The prime minister’s wife and two senior members of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Justice) Party have also tested positive, Sultan announced on Sunday.
Khan – who regularly attended meetings without wearing a mask – had just had his first vaccine on Thursday.
Key members of his government urged citizens to continue vaccinating amid fears that news of the leader’s illness would only heighten widespread hesitation in Pakistan about vaccines.
“Symptoms take a few days before they appear. Therefore, it is certain that the PM was infected BEFORE the vaccination ”, said Asad Umar, the minister responsible for COVID-19 operations in the country, in a tweet.
“So, please, get vaccinated,” he wrote.
Although it was not announced which Khan vaccine was given, the vaccine produced by the China National Pharmaceutical Group – Sinopharm – is the only one officially available in Pakistan.
Media reports say a private pharmaceutical company in Pakistan imported 50,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, according to The Associated Press.
Pakistan has seen a worrying increase in cases of COVID-19 in the capital and in the eastern and northern areas. Authorities on Sunday reported 44 new deaths and 3,667 new confirmed infections.
Overall, the virus killed about 14,000 people in Pakistan and infected more than 626,000.
With Post Wires