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Updated December 27th, 2020 at 11:40 IST

Pakistan vaccine drive faces dangerous challenges

The challenge of vaccinating millions of people in developing countries is a huge one, and it's not just the cost of coronavirus shots or the logistics of administering them.

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The challenge of vaccinating millions of people in developing countries is a huge one, and it's not just the cost of coronavirus shots or the logistics of administering them. In some parts of Pakistan, vaccinating people can be a deadly job. Since 2012, more than 100 workers in polio vaccination campaigns have been killed. Arifullah Khan has experienced the danger at first hand. Five years ago he and a colleague had just finished administering a polio jab when gunfire rang out from the nearby hills.

"It happened so suddenly. There was so much gunfire it felt like an explosion," he said, recalling details of the attack in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region near the Afghan border.

A bullet shattered his thigh and he fell to the ground. His co-worker lay dying in front of him. "I couldn't move," Khan said. "I watched him lying right in front of me as he took his last breath." The attack followed claims from militant groups that the campaign was a plot against Islam - claims fuelled by a CIA operation in Pakistan in 2011 which used a scam vaccination programme to track down and kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Such violence is an extreme example of the difficulties many poor and developing countries face as they tackle the monumental task of vaccinating their populations against COVID-19. Poor infrastructure often means roads are treacherous and electricity is sporadic for the refrigerators vital to preserving vaccines.

Corruption can siphon away funds, and vaccination campaign planners must sometimes navigate through multiple armed factions. Many nations are relying on COVAX, an international system aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines, though it is already short on funding.

UNICEF, which runs immunization programs worldwide, is gearing up to help procure and administer COVID-19 vaccines. It has stockpiled half a billion syringes and aims to provide 70,000 refrigerators, mostly solar powered. Khan predicted that just as the polio campaign drew opposition in Pakistan, the coronavirus vaccine programme would have its critics too.

Deeply conservative tribal elders are scared of COVID-19 but they're also suspicious of western vaccines, he explained. Khan said he signed up to administer polio vaccines because he needed the money. He will likely sign up to deliver COVID-19 vaccines as well - but this time he said he would be more mindful of the dangers. 

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Published December 27th, 2020 at 11:40 IST

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