Pak PM Imran Khan, wife tests COVID positive after taking Chinese vaccine

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for coronavirus, his special assistant on national health services said on Saturday, two days after the premier got his vaccination.

Taking to Twitter, Faisal Sultan said that Khan is self-isolating at home. “PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self isolating at home,” he wrote.

Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has also tested positive for Covid-19.

This comes days after Imran Khan received the first shot of vaccination against COVID-19 and urged the citizens of his country to ensure the full implementation of norms to prevent the surge in cases of coronavirus.

Khan, 67, was vaccinated on Thursday with the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm as part of the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination campaign.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services has issued a statement saying Imran Khan was not fully vaccinated when he contracted the virus.

Asserting that vaccines work against disease, the ministry tweeted, “He (Imran Khan) only got the first dose and merely two days ago, which is too soon for any vaccine to become effective. Antibodies develop two-three weeks after the second dose of two-dose Covid vaccines.”

In a tweet, PTI Senator Faisal Javed said Imran Khan is “experiencing mild symptoms” and will continue working from home.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan tests positive for coronavirus, is experiencing ‘mild symptoms’. He will self-quarantine at home however will continue to work from home over video conference,” he tweeted.

Pakistan on Thursday also imposed smart lockdowns in areas worst hit by the coronavirus as the country recorded a sharp increase in the positive cases. The country has reported 623,135 coronavirus cases so far. Over 13,700 people have died in the country due to the virus.