ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Asad Umar has said that Pakistan will receive 17 million doses of Astra Zeneca in 1st half of 2021.
On a social media website Twitter, Asad Umar said, “Good news on covid vaccine front. Pakistan received a response letter from Covax which indicated “supply of up to 17 million doses of AstraZeneca in 1st half 2021,” he added.
Federal minister Asad Umar further said that the deliveries of these vaccines will begin in February with about 6 million AstraZeneca doses received by March. The country reached out to Covax “nearly 8 months back to ensure availability,” he added.
Good news on covid vaccine front. Recieved letter from Covax of indicative supply of up to 17 million doses of AstraZeneca in 1st half 2021. About 6 million will be recieved by March with delivery starting in Feb. We signed with Covax nearly 8 months back to ensure availability
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) January 30, 2021
On the other hand, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plane will depart for China on Sunday (tomorrow) to bring the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine comprising five hundred thousand doses.
The doses will be transported from Beijing in a special Chinese container. The authorities have confirmed that China has donated a total of 1.1 million vaccine doses to Pakistan.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) today deliberated over the strategy to administer the coronavirus vaccine across the country. The meeting was told that a proper storage center has been built in Islamabad for the doses.
