Has Pakistan Achieved Herd Immunity Against COVID19?

[Riaz Haq]

How widespread are coronavirus infections and vaccinations in Pakistan? Has Pakistan achieved herd immunity or close to achieving it?  The latest IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) report on Pakistan (dated August 19, 2021) claims that "about 81% of the population have been infected, and about 65% are immune to the Delta variant". It says that the "cases and deaths are declining in Pakistan, but the situation remains fragile".      

The report defines two types of coronavirus variants: escape and non-escape. The escape variants include Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta (India) variants while non-escape variants are the original ancestral virus and Alpha (UK) variant.  The report projects Pakistan reaching 75% to 90% immunity to various COVID19 variants through a combination of infections and vaccinations by the end of 2021. 

Immunity to COVID Variants in Pakistan. Source: IHME

The IHME August 19 COVID19 results briefing on Pakistan also warns: "If mobility increases and mask wearing declines as cases are declining (people let down their guard), cases could surge again".  Here is the summary of the IHME report:

"Cases and deaths are declining in Pakistan, but the situation remains fragile. We estimate that about 81% of the population have been infected, and about 65% are immune to the Delta variant (accounting for cross-variant protection). If mobility increases and mask wearing declines as cases are declining (people let down their guard), cases could surge again."

If the IHME modeling of COVID19 in Pakistan is correct, it raises hope that Pakistan is nearing an end to the current pandemic that has badly hurt its people and its economy. Achieving this goal will require that Pakistanis continue to implement the following 5 strategies recommended by IHME. 

1) Increase vaccination through outreach and perhaps vaccine mandates from employers and making it easy to get vaccinated; 

2) Reduce the risk of major transmission if schools are to open through appropriate use of mitigation measures including universal masking, sufficient distancing of students, and periodic testing of all students; 

3) Support hospital systems that will be under severe stress in the next 4–6 weeks; 

4) Implement mask mandates in states or communities with major surges in hospitalization; and 

5) Maintain surveillance on breakthrough infection by type of vaccine and time since vaccination – as well as adequate testing for vaccinated and unvaccinated – in order to accurately track the evolution of the epidemic".

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

COVID19 in Pakistan: Test Positivity Rate and Deaths Declining

Fareed Zakaria Never Misses Any Opportunity to Bash Pakistan

Pakistan COVID19 Normalcy Index

Lynchistan: India is the Lynching Capital of the World

73 Year After Independence, Caste-Ridden India Dominated By Brahmins

Pakistan's Pharma Industry Among World's Fastest Growing

Is Pakistan's Response to COVID19 Flawed?

Pakistan's Computer Services Exports Jump 26% Amid COVID19 Lockdown

Coronavirus, Lives and Livelihoods in Pakistan

Vast Majority of Pakistanis Support Imran Khan's Handling of Covid1...

Pakistani-American Woman Featured in Netflix Documentary "Pandemic"

Coronavirus Antibodies Testing in Pakistan

Can Pakistan Effectively Respond to Coronavirus Outbreak? 

How Grim is Pakistan's Social Sector Progress?

Pakistan Fares Marginally Better Than India On Disease Burdens

Trump Picks Muslim-American to Lead Vaccine Effort

Democracy vs Dictatorship in Pakistan

Pakistan Child Health Indicators

Pakistan's Balance of Payments Crisis

Panama Leaks in Pakistan

Conspiracy Theories About Pakistan Elections"

PTI Triumphs Over Corrupt Dynastic Political Parties

Strikingly Similar Narratives of Donald Trump and Nawaz Sharif

Nawaz Sharif's Report Card

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

[Riaz Haq]

Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil, epidemiologist and chairperson, Scientific Advisory Committee, National Institute of Epidemiology:

"Most of us have been infected naturally and this produces robust immunity which lasts years. There is evidence that immunity gained from natural infection would last a lifetime. I hope immunity from vaccination also lasts that long."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/third-covid-wave...


Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil categorically ruled out the need for booster doses (of COVID vaccine).

[Riaz Haq]

Share (in percent) of fully vaccinated population in #Bangladesh, #India, #Pakistan & #Iran. #COVID19 #CovidVaccine https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/pakistan?country=~PAK

https://twitter.com/haqsmusings/status/1435749980178829316?s=20

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan has administered at least 64,554,859 doses of #COVID #vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 14.9% of the country’s population. #VaccinationCovid https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/cou...

[Riaz Haq]

IIF: #Pakistan’s #economy resilient to #Covid_19. Policy response includes emergency health spending, a food security program, temporary tax deferrals, subsidized loans to house-holds, & deferrals of loan payments. Need structural reforms for higher growth https://gulfnews.com/business/pakistans-economic-outlook-improves-b...

Dubai: Pakistan’s economy has remained largely resilient to COVID-19 with policy response to the pandemic has limiting economic contraction and the country is poised for a 4 per cent GDP growth in the financial year 2021- 22, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

“The authorities have deployed a comprehensive set of policy responses that have helped to limit the contraction in real GDP to 0.5 per cent in FY 2019/20. The crisis-mitigating measures included emergency health spending, a food security programme, temporary tax deferrals, subsidized loans to house-holds, and deferrals of loan payments,” said Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist, MENA, IIF.


---
Accommodative policy
Monetary policy remains accommodative as inflationary pressures have eased in recent months. The policy rate remained unchanged at 7 per cent from July 2020 to August 2021 and supported the recovery. Urban core inflation remained broadly stable at 6.9 per cent in July 2021 (yoy) as compared with headline inflation of 8.7 per cent, which was driven by the upward adjustment in electricity tariffs in the context of higher global oil prices

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently noted that the recent price pressures were “largely supply-driven and transient” and expects average CPI inflation to decline to slightly below 8 per cent in FY 2021/22 as compared with 10.7 per cent in FY 2019/20.


Improving external position
The external position has strengthened supported by the continued surge in worker’s remittances. The deterioration in the trade deficit, on the back of the sharp increase in imports, has more than offset by the continued surge in workers’ remittances.

Remittances increased by 29 per cent in FY 2020-21 driven by both domestic and international factors. Domestically, the authorities reduced the threshold for eligible transactions from $200 to $100 under the Reimbursement of Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Charges Scheme, promoted usage of formal and digital channels, and restricted cross border travel in the wake of COVID-19.

Internationally, fiscal stimulus in developed and emerging economies enabled Pakistanis living abroad to send more money home. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, USA, and the UK are the main source of remittance inflows.

“The current account deficit narrowed from by one percent-age points of GDP to 0.7 per cent of GDP in fiscal year 2020/21. Net capital inflows were again well above the current account deficit, leading to a substantial increase in official reserves to the equivalent of 3.3 months of import coverage, the highest since 2016,” said Iradian.

Public finances
Pakistan’s public finances have improved substantially. The narrowing of the deficit in FY 2020/21 to 7.1 per cent of GDP was supported by continued recovery in tax revenues and prudent spending, which fell by 2 per cent in real terms. The budget for the FY 2021/22 envisages further narrowing of the overall fiscal deficit to 6.3 per cent of GDP, supported by revenue-enhancing reforms and further expenditure rationalization. Public debt, the IIF expects will remain elevated at 88 per cent of GDP by June 2022.


Growth outlook
Sustained GDP growth hinges on further progress in re-forming the economy.

----
The current gross investment to GDP ratio remains low at around 15 per cent of GDP. Experience from most emerging and developing economies show that raising growth to at least 5 per cent would require much higher investment to GDP ratio.

The IIF has noted that security concerns pose a downside risk following the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan.

[Riaz Haq]

65% of the adult population in #Pakistan has received at least one dose of #Covid_19 #vaccine. The country has administered 83 million doses of COVID vaccines so far. https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/cou...