Pakistan is expected to receive vaccine doses via the COVAX vaccine facility starting this week, sources said Monday.
According to the sources, the first consignment will bring 1.2 million doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to the country. The shipment is arriving from South Korea.
The first batch is expected to reach the country on Friday, May 7, sources said.
Through the COVAX vaccine facility, Pakistan has planned to vaccinate 20% of its population free of charge, sources said.
Last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had announced that Pakistan will receive 15 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from the COVAX scheme as the country continues to battle the pandemic's third wave.
Qureshi took to Twitter to announce the development after his meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin.
"Following my meeting with Foreign Minister HeikoMaas, I am happy to announce that Pakistan will receive 15 million doses of the #COVID vaccine under COVAX, with a commitment for these to be delivered by May," FM Qureshi said in a tweet.