ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received first tranche 0.5 million anti-corona vaccine purchased from China at the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said another consignment of 0.5 million vaccines will be received on Thursday (today). He said China has always extended a helping hand to Pakistan in the hour of need.
Earlier Pakistan has received its first purchase of 60,000 doses of a Chinese CanSino Biologics Inc’s coronavirus vaccine. A plane carrying as many as 60,000 doses of single-dose vaccine arrived at the Islamabad International Airport on Tuesday.
Pakistan has purchased 60,000 doses of single-dose CanSino vaccine and one million doses of Sinopharm vaccine. Pakistan had asked China for one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and has received three batches containing 1.5 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine.
It has been known that Pakistan will also import more coronavirus vaccines made by China’s CanSino Biologics next month equivalent to 3 million doses.
Pakistan began a vaccination drive last month with over a million doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by long-time ally China, but is scrambling to get more supplies as it awaits COVAX-GAVI allocations of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which have been delayed.
“We will be getting the bulk vaccine by mid-April from CanSino, from which 3 million doses can be made,” Asad Umar said on Twitter. “The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilized and packed in Pakistan,” he said.
The Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines arriving are the first that Pakistan has purchased rather than being donations. Pakistan was expecting to receive a first batch of up to four million doses of GAVI’s total allocation of 45 million doses earlier this month, but that was delayed with AstraZeneca’s Indian manufacturer citing domestic needs.
