China assures Covid-19 vaccines to reach Pakistan by January 31
China assures Covid-19 vaccines to reach Pakistan by January 31
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr. Nausheen Hamid has said that China has assured to provide 500,000 doses of its coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.
In an interview on Friday, she said that in the first phase, front line workers will be vaccinated, for which more than 300,000 of them have already registered.
She said that Pakistan has approved Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use and hoped that it would be available from China soon. She added that the vaccine has been developed by CanSinoBio and Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, China.
Dr. Nausheen Hamid said that the Chinese vaccine is successfully undergoing three stages of testing. It is an honor for Pakistan to be one of the few countries participating in the study of the largest and relatively difficult phase 3 of the vaccine.
She explained that in the first phase, frontline healthcare workers who are facing the challenge of Covid-19 will be inoculated while senior citizens aged 65 and above will be vaccinated in the second phase.
She said that providing protection to health workers is the top priority of the government so that they can perform their duty more efficiently.
Dr. Nausheen Hamid also said the government was in close contact with three international firms developing Covid-19 vaccines.
