ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received on Saturday another batch of Sinopharm vaccine from China, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
A special plane of Pakistan International Airlines carrying one million doses of Sinopharm vaccine reached Islamabad, the NCOC said. The NCOC has said that Pakistan will receive a total of 11 million doses of Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Cansino vaccines this month.
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has said that a batch of 118,000 doses of the Chinese CanSino Bio Covid-19 vaccine was ready to be delivered to the government, Reuters reported.
The country’s inoculation programme has administered more than 8.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines so far. The NCOC has decided to initiate a vaccination campaign on a massive scale under the ‘whole nation approach’ in collaboration with various public and private partners.
Om May 24, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)’s special flight PK6853 had airlifted another batch of two millions doses of Sinovac vaccine from the Beijing Capital International Airport to Islamabad on Sunday.
Earlier, a special flight PK 6852 had also transported a consignment of one million doses of Sinovac vaccine procured from China to fight the ongoing wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, said Qadir Bux Sangi, PIA Country Manager for China.
The Chinese authorities have pledged to continue the uninterrupted supply of vaccines to help Pakistan defeat the deadly virus. Pakistan has so far received over 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines comprising of Sinopharm, Sinovac and CanSino procured from China including others through the COVAX programme.
Currently, Pakistan is facing a third wave of COVID-19 pandemic while the relevant authorities continue to tightening the anti-pandemic measures and facilitating the vaccination drive.
According to an official, the vaccination for the 30-39 age group started on Saturday and would continue for an indefinite period. Pakistan has already been vaccinating people aged 40 and above across the country.
According to the NCOC, the country has administered 4,956,853 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to date, with 1,193,441 people fully inoculated.
It may be mentioned that Pakistan began a vaccination drive in March with over a million doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by China. Islamabad received the first COVID-19 vaccine consignment after a military aircraft transported it from Beijing on February 1, this year.
