Washington DC February 7 2022: On the positive side, Pakistan managed to avoid severe COVID-19 outbreaks stated in the recent report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pakistan’s infection rate has generally remained lower than in peer countries. The fourth wave is waning, with daily cases below 1,000 as of mid-November for more than one month and a positivity rate of about 1.5 percent.
The vaccine rollout has accelerated, with more than 124 million doses administered as of early-December, covering 38 percent of the population with at least one shot and 24 percent fully vaccinated. This, together with the extra resources provided by the recent SDR allocation, is keeping within reach the authorities’ objective to fully cover more than 78 million people by end-December. Considering the structure of the economy (with large informality and agricultural sectors), persistent damage to supply capacity (or scarring) is likely limited.
