Authorities have received another tranche comprising 500,000 doses of China-made Sinopharm vaccine as Pakistan has paced up the drive to inoculate the public against COVID-19.
A special PIA plane reached Islamabad from Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday, an official said, adding that another 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine will be received on Wednesday morning.
Last Sunday, a special flight PK6852 brought a consignment of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine from Beijing to Islamabad.
The government aims at vaccinating 70 million people by the end of this year. So far, nearly 5.3 million people have been vaccinated.
On Monday, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan approved the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in Pakistan.
Reports in local media cited that the registration board of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has granted permission of use under section VII of the Drug Act 1976.
According to the officials of the country’s top drug regulators, the Pfizer vaccine will be administered to people with low immunity, aspiring Hajj pilgrims, and pregnant women.
On Friday, Pakistan has received over 100,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine under the World Health Organisation’s COVAX programme. The shipment of Pfizer is the second consignment of vaccines received by Pakistan via the COVAX facility.