We recently read articles addressing the concerns of patients with autoimmune disorders, highlighting a lack of evidence on the pros and cons of the newly developed coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in this population. 1 On the other hand, this pandemic worsens day by day, with total confirmed cases reaching 123 million as of March 21, 2021, and a death toll of 2.7 million so far. 2,3 Dreadfully, most robust healthcare systems are finding it hard to cope with the pandemic of COVID-19. [4][5][6][7] The only way to reduce the socioeconomic burden of COVID-19 and the strain on healthcare systems is to achieve herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2. 1 Vaccine, one of the most promising public health measures, seems to offer a ray of expectation of ending the pandemic through herd immunity.

BackgroundHepatitis B and C are viral infections of the liver transmitted by blood contamination. These infections are endemic in Pakistan and put a tremendous burden on its healthcare system. We conducted this study to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in Gujranwala, Pakistan, from 2010 to 2015 and determine the trend of future infections for a prediction of the disease burden by 2030 so policymakers can make informed decisions. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 66,308 healthy blood donor samples at District Headquarters Teaching Hospital in Gujranwala from January 2010 to December 2015. Samples were screened for HBV and HCV using the kit method, and data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). We applied a least squares regression to our results to predict HBV and HCV incidence in 2030. ResultsA total of 715 samples (1.08%) were positive for HBV and 1,846 samples (2.78%) were positive for HCV. Our projections indicate that 3.25% of patients in Pakistan will be positive for HBV, and 6.36% will be positive for HBC by 2030. ConclusionWe found an unexpectedly greater burden of HBV and HCV in the recent past than at current levels. The predicted percentages of future burden over the next decade were alarmingly high. These data necessitate implementing preventive and therapeutic measures by policymakers to reduce the disease burden and mortality in Pakistan.