Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife have tested positive for Covid-19, according to government officials.
Khan is “self-isolating at home,” the country’s health minister, Faisal Sultan, said on Saturday.
The 68-year-old former international cricketer received his first dose of China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Thursday. The Sinopharm shot 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 has urged the public not to be deterred from getting a shot based on Khan’s diagnosis.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan was not fully vaccinated when he contracted the virus. He received only the first dose and only 2 days ago, which is too early for ANY vaccine to be effective. Anti-organs develop in 2-3 weeks after the 2nd dose of 2-dose COVID vaccines. #VaccinesWork, “Pakistan’s health minister tweeted on Saturday.
The South Asian nation of 220 million people has recorded 13,799 deaths and 623,135 cases during the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Cases have risen in Pakistan in recent weeks, although the pandemic has largely been under control. Restriction restrictions have been strengthened in some parts of the country in response to rising infections.
Pakistan’s vaccine rollout, which began on March 10 with the elderly, has been met with hesitation among some sections of the population, and footage of Khan receiving the shot was sent in an apparent attempt to alleviate concerns.
Following his vaccination on Thursday, Khan appealed to the public to stay safe and continue to take precautions as the country faces a third wave of coronavirus.
Khan’s spokesman Shahbaz Gill was quick to distance the prime minister’s positive test result with the Sinopharm shot. “Do not link it to the coronary vaccine. Immunity develops a few weeks after the vaccine is given. Be sure to vaccinate your elders and loved ones.. Be careful,” Gill said on Twitter.
Gill said Khan had a mild cough and fever, and asked for him to have a speedy recovery.
Khan has held regular meetings and recently attended a security conference in the capital Islamabad where he spoke to a crowd without a mask.
Khan’s special assistant for overseas Pakistanis, Syed Zulfi Bukhari, said the prime minister had probably been infected before being vaccinated on Thursday.
“Vaccines are safe and must be taken, #PMIK had his first shot just a day ago before he was already exposed to it. Get vaccinated against yourself and your loved ones and fight the fake news,” Bukhari tweeted on Saturday.
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