KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to block the SIM cards of people refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah announced on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the provincial minister said that the Sindh government was trying to facilitate people in getting the vaccine and it would be unacceptable if the public still did not receive the shot.
“Sindh is working with the federal government to ensure that everyone gets inoculated,” Nasir Shah said, adding that in addition to the shot, people need to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) as well in order to eradicate the virus.
Nasir Hussain Shah reiterated, “The salaries of government employees are already linked to their vaccination. Any public worker who doesn’t get the COVID-19 shot will not receive their salary.”
The information minister further said that incidents of vaccination certificate forgery had been reported, but these were few in number and were being dealt with. “Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had taken notice of fake vaccination certificates being distributed at Expo Centre in Karachi,” he added.
“The Chief Minister has instructed the interior ministry and Sindh inspector-general to take strict action against them. Anyone found to be spreading misinformation about the vaccine will be penalised,” Shah warned.
Talking about the Pfizer vaccine, the information minister said it was reserved for overseas students and workers. Last week, however, the Pakistan government changed its guidelines for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and said it will only be used to inoculate people with weak immune systems.
Earlier, the Punjab government had also said it was considering various options to compel people to get vaccinated against coronavirus. One of the recommendations was to block SIM cards of the people who were unwilling to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
