Pak to receive 17 million AstraZeneca doses in first half of 2021: Asad Umar
Last updated on: 31 January,2021 10:05 am
6 million doses will be received by March, says Asad Umar
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar has said that Pakistan will receive 17 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in first half of 2021.
According to details, Minister for planning in his tweet said that government of Pakistan has received a letter from Covax confirming that 17 million doses of AstraZeneca will be provided to Pakistan in 1st half of 2021.
He said that about six million doses will be received by March with delivery starting in February.
Asad Umar said that Pakistan signed with Covax nearly 8 months back to ensure availability of the vaccine.
— 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.
The vaccine will be shifted to all provinces by air from the federal capital and all preparations have been finalized in this regard. A special vaccination center has been constituted at the NCOC under which all provincial and district bodies will function.