PESHAWAR: The world has seen a “sharp decline” in business activities since the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported Omicron, a new variant of Coronavirus, and pharmaceutical company Moderna said that it vaccines are in effective against the variants.
According to AFP, global stock exchanges and global oil prices have declined sharply, while European countries facing rise in inflation. However, other major pharmaceutical companies, such as Biotech and Pfizer, said that it is too early to comment on the effectiveness of the vaccine, which has led to improvements in the markets of some Asian countries.
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The US’s Wall Street stock exchange also fell after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that inflation could exceed expectations.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the health department said that the administration is ready for any situation but urged the masses to get Covid-19 shots. Focal Person of KP health department on Covid-19 Dr Iftikhar Uddin told Mashriq TV that since omicron is not a “variant of high consequence” which means that it can be controlled through vaccines through some extend.
Dr Iftikhar said that the health department is ready to deal with the virus but it would be difficult to tame the virus without the support of the people. He said that 30 million people in Pakistan has only secured first dose of Covid-19 vaccines. He urged the masses to get vaccinated to stop the spread of virus.
The focal person said that there is no shortage of vaccines and it is available at the basic health units in each village. He said that the job of health department was to make the vaccine available and create awareness among the people. Dr Iftikhar said that the province has laboratories to detect the Omicron variant. He said that the government has purchased 80% of vaccines while 20% was donated by friendly countries.
The Lady Reading Hospital spokesman Muhammad Asim said the hospital has established the 400 bed Covid-19 ward. He said that the hospital is ready for any emergency. Asim said that number of Covid patients in KP has significantly declines as there are only 16 patients under treatment in hospital. He said that 99% of the patients are those who have not received single dose of vaccination.